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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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CIHM 

Microfiche, 
Series 
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ICMH 

Collection  de 
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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


technical  and  Bibliographic  Notts  /  Notas  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquas 


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Commentaires  supplimentaires: 


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of  tha  orlglnaf  copy  and  In  kaaping  with  tha 
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tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  lllustratad  impraft- 
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LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


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A  YlACHT  VOYAGE. 


Letters yrom   High  Latitudes: 


■si 


ACCOU.XT  OF  A    VOYAGE,  IN  1856, 
/-V  THE  SCHOONER   YACHT  ''FOAM;' 


ICELAND,  JAN  MAVEN,  AND  SPITZBERGEN. 
BY  LORD  DUFFERIN 

GOVERNOR  GENERAL  OF  THe' DOMINION  OF  ^KliK^f". 


NEW  YORK: 
R.  WORTHINGTON,  750  BROADWAY. 

1878. 


n;Q^*' 


•  But  since  it  pleased  a  vanished  eye, 
^     I  go  to  plant  it  on  his  tomb, 

Tha^if  it  can,  it  there  may  bloom, 
Or  dying— there  at  leait  may  die." 


"  He, 
To  whom  a  thousand  memories  call, 
Not  being  less,  but  more  than  ill 
Tlie  gentleness  he  seemed  to  be. 

So  wore  his  outward  best,  and  joined 
Each  office  of  the  social  hour 
To  noble  manners,  as  the  flower 
And  native  growth  of  noble  mind." 


/•  Memoriam, 


TO  '**^ 

".THAT  TRUE  NORTH,** 

I   DEDICATE 
THIS    MDiTl&fti   - 


:;i^. 


'    ~^. 


=^l 


"  Witness,  too,  the  silent  cry, 
ITie  prayer  of  many  a  race,  and  creed,  and  clime, 
Thunderless  liRhtnings  striking  under  sea 
From  sunset  to  sunrise  of  all  thy  realm. 
And  that  true  North." 


/     >r 


•^ 


^  -\ 


PREFACE  TO  THIRD  EDITION. 


--H 


'X'HAT  an  Universal  Language  would  infinitely  multiply 
the  moral  and  material  forces  of  mankind,  is  an  idea  as 
old  as  the  story  of  Babel ;  for  it  is  evident  that  with  such 
a  medium,  those  waves  of  thought  and  conviction,  upon 
whose  rapid  and  ubiquitous  propagation  depend  the  pro- 
gress of  our  species,  would  permeate  the  wdrld  with  the 
instantaneous  energy  of  an  electric  shock,  communicating 
irresistible  intensity  to  all  human  effort.     But  is  not  the 
punishment  pronounced  on  man's  primeval  presumption, 
in  the  course  of  reversal?     Whatever  may  be  the  future 
fate   of    the  kingdoms,  states,  and  empires  founded    by 
the  British  race,  the  edict  has  already  gone  forth  which 
constitutes   our   Mother    tongue  "the    common    language 
of. the  chief  portion  of  the  earth,  ,.:From  the  ^rctic  Circle 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  along  the"^  Western.  Southern,  and 
Eastern   seaboards  of  Africa,  throughout   the   peninsula 
of  India,  in  the  ports  of  China  and  Japan,  amongst  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific  Archipelago,  and  on  the-  Australian 
continent,  the  English  language  already  reigns  supreme. 
In  another  fifty  years,  the  English-speaking  population  of 
North  America  alone  will  number  more  than  one  hundred 
million  souls,  whose  merchant  fleets  will  whiten  the  two 


.? 


n  PREFACE  TO  THIRD  EDlTIok. 

adjacent  oceans,  while  those  of  tlieir  Australian  brethren 
crowd  all  the  Southern  seas,   *What  may  not  be  expected 
from  the  exertions  of  such  a  civilization,  itself  the  heir  of 
all  the  ages,— thus  unified  by  the  possession  of  a  common 
language,  a  common  literature^  analogous  political  institu- 
tions, the  ties  of  kinsmanship,  and  a  traditional  affection  1 
But  it  is  to  the  writer  of  English  books  that  such  a  pros- 
pect is  most  exhilarting.   An  author's  public  is  as  the  breath 
of  his  nostrils  ;  his  fame  is  fed  by  numbers,  and  the  incre- 
ment of  mankind,  ensures  his  immortality.     As  he  glances^ 
down  the  vista  of  futurity  he  feels  like  the  actor  watching 
through  a  hole  in  aTurtain  the  grateful  o.verflow  of  a  ben- 
efit audience  along  the  boxes,  pit,  and  stalls,  into  the  waste 
places  and  ultimate  recesses  of  his  theatre.     It  is  true  the 
fulness  of  this  joy  belongs  only  to  the  leading  performers  -"^ 
but  even  the  walking  gentleman— and  tg /no  higber  analogy 
does  the  present  writer  pretend— feels  a  hwmble  pride  in 
the  triumphs  thys  preparing  for  his  more  illustrious  col- 
leagues, nay,  may  find  consolation  in  the  thought  that  his 
own'  part,  however  insignificant,  is  not  to  be  played  before 
empty  benches.     Though  he  receive  or  deserve  but  scant 
attention  from   the   audience  as  a  whole,  the   scattered 
crumbs  of  approbation  which  may  fall  from  amid  an  infini- 
tude of  spectators,  will  furnish  forth,  he  trusts,  what  in 
the  sum  may  prove  sufficient  material  for  a  very  respect- 
able reputation.  ^• 

It  is  in  some  such  kindred  hope  that  the  author  now 
watches  his  little  book?4^eing  introduced  at  tl^  instance  of 
its  present  publishers" to  the  notice  of  the  inTiabitants  of 


■f 


PREFACE  TO  THIRD  MDITION^ 

•  the  United  States.     It  has  already  receivec 

modest  share  of  patronage  to   wjiich  it  was' 

Canada  other  causes  h^ve  secured  for  it  mor? 

than  it  cDuld  have  claimed  on  its  own  merits.     If  it  should 

be  fortunate   enough   to  attract   the   favor  or  amuse  the 

lighter  hours  of  his  Republican  peighbors,  his  ambition  will 

be  more  than  satisfied;  (or  not'only  will  he  feel  that  his 

'  work  has  been  permanently  doTiiciled  arnid  the  expanding 

literature  of  the  American  continent,  but  that  he  has  also 

contributed,  however   infinitesimally,  to   the    pleasure   of 

those  from  so  many  of  whose  countrymen  he  has  received 

both  in  his  public  and  private  capacity  unusual  marks  of 

c,ourtesy  and  kindness.     „ 


> 


V 


<^ 


\ 


V  ■'  \ 

PREFACE    ESPECIALLY  WRITTEN  FOR  THE 
CANADIAN  EDITION. 


A  CYNIC  has  suggested  that  after  a  certain  interval  the 
return  to  life  of  otr  dearest  relative  might  often  occasion 
as  much  perplexity  as  pleasure. 

However  harshly  this  sentiment  may  grate  on  the^  ears  of 
Constancy,  I  confess  to  a  kindred  feeling  of  embarrassment  jn 
being  suddenly  confronted,  after  so  many  years,  with  the  alien 
self  that  reappears  in  the  following  pages-,  but  I  am  told  that  the 
.^.^friendly  community  with  which  I  am  now  connected,  and%ith 
whose  fortunes  my  own.  are  temporarily  interwoven,  may  be^ 
disposed  to  take  an  interest  in  the  youthful  yachting  experiences 
of  their  present  Governor  General. 

But  for  this  I  should  hever  have  had  the  hardihood  to  appear  as 
an  author  before  the  public  of  this  Continent,  whose  geograph- 
ical position  and  fiscal  arrangements  enable  its  inhabitants  to 
skim  the  cream  from  the  literature  of  Europe,  without  troubling 
themselves  either  with  its  sedimentary  dejjosits,  or  the  irritating 
restrictions  of  its  copyrights.  Once  indeed  through  the  \'  enter- 
prise "  of  a  transatlantic  Editor,  whose  nationality  shall  be  name- 
less, a  mutilated  issue  of  these  «  Letters  "  obtained  an  ephemepd 
publicity  in  a  provincial  serial,  but  in  spite  of  my  spirited  impresario 
having  prefaced  his  piracy  by  the  assertion  that  "he  had 
-commissioned  a  British  Locd  at  a  handsome  salary"  to  discover 
the  North  Pole  "  and  to  furnish  his  Magazine  with  "^h  account 
.  of  his  adventures,"  confirmed  as  it  was  by  such  a  transfiguration 
of  the  dates,  Jenses,  and  superscriptions  in  my  narrative  as 
might  best  color  this  ingenious  fiction— the  speculation  must 
have  proved  a^financial  failure,  as  np  per  centage  on  his  profits 
has  hithertoreached  my  hands. 

^  •  ix 


^ 


i 


I 


Vi 


^ 


i 


X  PREFACE. 

Notwithstanding  luis  discouraging  experience,  I  am  still  in 
hopes  that  the  Canadian  reader,  j^part  from  any  personal  interest 
wWh  which  he  may  regard  the  -thor,  will  not  grudge  an 
;  occaaiional  half-hour  to  a  description  of  thpsc  out-land  countries 
that  share  with  his  Dominion  the  Aurora's  ruby  affluence,  and 
are  wrapped  by  winter  in  th^  same  silver  mantle  as  his  own ; 
whose  early  mariners— 500  years  before  Columbus —  swept 
through  the  gulfs  of  his  St,  Lavyrence,  and  struck  the  headlands 
of  his  Aqadie  ;  and  whose  modern  inliabitants,  in  the  simplicity 
o£  their  lives,  in  the  nobleness  of  their  courtesy,  in  the  freedom 
of  their  political  institutions,  and  in  their  masculine  energy 
exemplify  and  prefigure  within  their  lesser  limits  the  qualities, 
virtues,  and  attainments  proper  to  a  great  Northern  people. 
And  here  1  should  be  disposed  to  end  my  brief  apology  for 
■  this  Edition,  were  it  not  that  I  am  tempted  to  seize  the  opppr- 
tunity  of  answering  a  question  that  has  been  frequently  put  to 
me— y  What  has  become  of  Wilson  ?  ♦' 

This  kind  and  faithful  servant  remained  with  me  for  many 
years  after  my  return  from  the  North,  ehvironed  by  something 
of  an  heroic  halo  in  the  eyes  of  the  ladies  of  his  acquaintance, 
and  of  the  public  whom  he  freqw(|p€d.  He  subsequently 
accompanied  me  on  an  eighteen  njmoihs'  cruise  to  the  Mecfiter- 
ranean,  as  well  as  on  my  visit  to  Syria  as  British  Commissioner, 
but  neither  the  sunshine  of  the  South  rfor  the  glitter  of  the  parti- 
colored East,  mercurialized  the  melancholy  of  his  temperament. 
In  the  congenial  atmosphere  of  the  graveyards  of  Egypt  he 
^^.isplayed  indeed  a  transient  sprightliness,  which  the  occasional 
exhumation  of  a  mummy,  and  such'  traffic  with  the  dead  and 
their  appurtenances  «s  my  excavations  at  fhebes  afforded  him, 
Stimulated' into  spasms  of  hilaritoir.       v 

Of  the  Pyramids  he  was  disposed  to'  think  but-  lightly,  until 
informed  that  they  had  served  for  sepulchres ;  but  ofi'  qui 
the  heights  of  Gizeh  I  observed  tbal^i^e  had  selected  two 
as  the  appropriate  memorials  of  hre*' visit. ,  With  his 
bound  in  the  folds'  of  a  yellow  turban,  a  striped  Arab 
enveloping  his  person,  and  seated  on  a  donkey,  these  fleshless 
countenances  grinning  from  under  either  arm,— his  own,  the 
J<i^g|^vjal  of  the  three, — he  presented,  I  confess,  something  of 
ghiQi«l-like  appearance  as,  wending  round  the  ran- 


.V 


If 


PREFACE. 


XI 


^m 


*  •      / 

sacked  tombs  of  the  Pharaohs,  we  passed  to  our  boats  through 
the  purple  haze  of  evening.  f, 

.  He  confbucd  to  the  end  to  solemnize  his  announcements 
with  plirases  of  dolorous  impqrt.'  One  day  at  Thebes  I  was 
lying  in  ijjjjr  bi|rth  prostrate  with  a  feverish  attack,  my  nerves  in 
*'""  ■**''^"-'^nablc  state  peculiar  to  sicVness  in  a  tropical 
^y  Wilson  enters  the  cabin  and  proclaims  in  his 
llo\#fllbnCs,  ?"!f  you  please,  my  Lord.jhe  Corpse  is  come 
by  which  dignified  but  depressing  title  he  was  pleased 
to  designate  a  mummy  which  my  ^rcople  had  /yst  brought  down 
from  %r6ck-tei3dplc  I  had  recently  discovered. 

Hi^  bedside  visits,  however,  were  not  always  so  innocuous. 
On  our  arrival  at  Beiriit  some  months  afcterwards,  we  found  a 
traveller  at  the  hotel  stricken  with  Syrian  fever— a  disease 
which  seldom  pardons.  The  patient's  life  hung  by  a  thread. 
The  doctors  had  enjoined  ther  most  absolute  quiet,  and  every 
inmate  of  the  house  passed  his.jdoor  breathless  and  on  tiptoe. 
One  k?nd  lady,' who  had  constituted  herself  his  nurse,  was 
allowed  to  visit  him.  But  on  an  unlucky  Sunday  afternoon  she 
was  ab^nt  for  a.brief  lialf  hour  at  Church. 

Forthwith  Wilson  stole  up»n  his  victim,  and  gliding  iato  a  chair 
at  the  bed-head,  whispered  forth  at  intervals  fhese  sentences  of 
dole:  "Well,  sir!  you  do  loolc^  bad !""  Syrian  fever,  I  under- 
stand, sir  ?  "  "  Ah  I  they  say  people  don't  recover  from  Syrian 
fetv."  "I  am.  Wilson,  sir."  "The  Wilson!"  with  which 
ghostlike  revelation  of  his  identity  he  concluded  his  dismal 
Avatar,  the  particulars  of  which  the  sick  man  happily  survived 
to  relate.  ^ 

i  could  multiply  these  paragraphs  by  the  relation  of  a  hundred 
similar  traits  6f  my  poor  follower's  ^^turnine  humor.  1 1  would  be 
more  difficult  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  his  kindness  and 
affectionate  serviceableness,  his  resolution  in  danger,  his  versa- 
tilttj^f^f  resource,  and  unassailable  integrity;  only  those  who 
have  travelled  much  in  wild  countries  can  understand  what  an 
Infinite  enhancement  of  one's  pleasure,  comfort  and  security,  is 
horn  of  such  faithful  comradeship.  If  every  now  and  then  I 
have  endeavored  to  enliven  my  ||ory' with  glimpses  of  the  share 
my  poor  servant  took  in  our  daily  life,  the  reader  will  feel  that 
a  loving  hand   has  guided   the  pencil.     To  this  day  I   never 


^ 


■I   * 


c^.. 


^ 


!i^:.^, 


^ii^'  Mj  m  n'S>^. 


'C?; 


'  >  >• 


xn 


PREFACE. 


fTvT   ^""^  ^  ^'""'"'^  ^\^^oyxt^  sigh  of  regret,  for  my  lost 
travelling  companion.  ^ 

Some  time  after  our  return  to  England,  Wilson's  health 
became  affected  by  an  obscure  disease,  which  subsequently 
developed  very  distressing  symptoms,  and  after  much  suffering 
bprne  with  great  patience,  he  died  in  the  Hospital  for  incurables 
at  Wimbledon. 

Ottawa,  Ont.,  1873. 


'!» 


^ 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS. 


SiGURDR,  Son  o/]osAS,  Icelander;  Law  Student. 

Charles  E.  Fitzgerald,  Surgeon  ;  Photographer;  Bofanist. 

Lord  DiJfferin,  Navigator;  Sagaman;  Artist. 

William  Wilson,  Valet;  Gardener;  Cape  Colonist. 

Albert  Grant,  Steward;  Watchmaker;  Bird-stuffer. 

John  Bevis,  First  Cook;  afterwards  Ducrow. 

William   Webster,  Second  Cook;  Carpenter;  late  of  Her  Majesty s  Po* 
Guards  ;  afterwards  Maid  Marian. 

Ebenezer  Wvse,  Master;  Califomian  Gold-digger. 

William  Leverettj  Mate. 

VliLLiAM  Taylor,  Butc/ier. 

Charles  Parne, 

Thomas  Scarlett, 

Thomas  Pilcher,      \. Seamen. 

Henry  Leve-rett, 

John  Lock, 

William  Wynhall,  Ship^. 

Voice  of  a  French  Captain. 

A  German  Gnat-catcfur. 

An  early  Village  Cock. 

A  Goat.  • 

An  Icelandic  Pox.  •  m 

A  WliiteBear. 

LadUs  and  Cavaliers  of  the  Icelandic,  Norse,  Lappish,  and  French 
tongues, 

SCEHK.— Sometimes  en  board tbt  "Foam,"  sometimes  in  Iceland,  Spit^ 


BERGEN,  and  Norway. 


sui 


/■ 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Portrait.  .......  ""■ 

,,,.,  Frontispiece 

Wilson 

'  Snorro 

The  Lake  OF  Thingvalla ^' 

PiainofThingvalla ^' 

Ground  Plan  of  Thinsvalla ^'' 

TheAlthing ^ ^^ 

Thingvalla ".       ^ 

r^ 

The  Great  Geysir "  ■* 

Sketch  of  Waterworks 

An  Icelandic  Lady.    . . 

■  .  •• '• lof 

Remains  of  Basaltic  Dykes. . 

„  110 

Taking  a  Sight 

1^7 

Mountains  of  Norway 

_  „  '49,150 

First  Glu*pse  of  Jan  Mayen 

The  Icelandic  Fox 

^^pp^^ ■•'■^^l^"""!"'!!'!!!'!!!'''""  ^66 

A  Lapp  Lad)^  Bonnet 

167 

In  the  Ice 

189 

Sigurdr 

194 

The  Midnight  Sun  off  Spitzbergen ^ ,„_ 

"  The  Girls  at  Home  h*ve  got  hold  of  the  Tow-Rope" 22c 

xiv  ' 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I.  "''■ 

Protesilaiw  Stumbles  on  the  Threshold , 

■  .^  LETTER  II. 

The  Icelander— A  modem  Sir  Patrick  Spens , 

LETTER  III. 
Loch  Goil— The  Saga  of  Clan  Campbell '. 

LETTER  IV.  ' 

Through  the  Sounds-Stornaway-The  Setting  up  Of  The  Figure-Head 
-F.tz  s  Foray-"  Oh  weel  may  the  boatie  row,  that  wins  the  Bairns- 
bread  "—Sir  Patrick  Spens  joins-Up  Anch'or 5 

LETTER  V. 
The  North  Atlantic-Spanish  Waves-Our  Cabin  in  a  Gale-Sea-Sick- 
ness from  a  Scientific  Point  of  View-Wilson -A  Passenger  Com- 
mits Suicde-First   Sight  of  Iceland-Floki  of  the  Ravens-The 
Norse  Mayflower— Faxa  Fiord- We  Land  in  Thule ,. 

■» 
LETTER  VI. 

Reykjavik-Latin  Conversation-I  become  the  Proprietor  of  Twenty-six 
Horses-Elder  Ducks-Bessestad-Snorro  Sturleson-The  Old 
Greenland  Colony-Finland-A  Genoese  Skipper  in  the  Fifteenth 
Ce..t»ry-An  Icelandic  Dinner^koal-An  After-Dinner  Speech  in 
Lahn-Wmged  Rabbits-Ducrow-Start  of  the  Baggage-Train 23 

LETTER  VII. 
Kisses-Wilson  on  Horseback-A  Lava  Plateau-Thingvalla-Almanna- 
gia-Rabnagia-Our  Tent-The  Shivered  Plain-Witch-Drowning- 
A  Parliamentary  Debate,  A.  D.  looc^Thangbrand  the  Missionary- 
A  German  Gnat-Catcher-The  Mystical  Mountains-Sir  Olaf-^Heck- 
la-Skapta  Jokul-The  Fire  Deluge  of  ,783-We  reach  the  Geysir 
~Strokr-Fitr-s  Bonne    Fortune-More  Kis»es-An  Eruption- 

XV 

2 


ua.jAt.  ,:..._tiik,"„ 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


/ 


Prince     Napolcon-Rct„m-Trad^Population-A    Mutiny-The  "" 

Remc  Hortense  "-The  Seven  D«tchmen-A  D.Il-Low  Tresses 
—Northward  Ho  I ^* 


49 


LETTER  VIII. 

Start  fron,Reykiavik-SnaefeIl-Thf  Lady  of  Froda^A  Berserk  Trage-  ' 
dy-The  Cftanipion  of  Brcidavik-Onunder  Fiord-  The  Last  Ni"ht- 
Crossing.th^Arctic  Circle—Fete  on  board  the  "  Reine 
— Le  Pfere  i  irctique— We  Fall  m  with 
Disappears- Mist— A   Partine 

-  Exr<Lti!r'"?''v^"  """P— "'  position-Shift  ef  Wind  and 
Extncation-'To  Norroway  over  the  Faem^'-A  Nasty  Coast- 
Hammerfest 


-.■i 


ne  Hortense  " 

the  Ice— The     "  Saxon  " 

a    Lonely   Spot— Jan   Mayen— 


LETTER  IX. 
Extract  from  tlie  "  Moniteur  "  of  the  31st  July,, 


109 


'53 


LETTER  Jf, 

Bucolics-Thp  Goat-Maid  Maria„-A  Lapp  Lady-L.pp  Love-Making 
-TheSea-Horseman-The  Gulf  Stream-Arctic  Currents-A  Din4 
Expeit,on-A  School  of  Peripatetic  Fishes-Alten-The  Chdtl 
laine  of  Kaafiord— Still  Northward  Hoi.... 

LETTER  XL 
We  Sail  for  Bear  Island  and  Spitzenbergen-Cherie  Island-Barentz- 
Sir  Hugh  Wdloughby-Parry's  Attempt  to  reach  the  North  Pole- 
Aga>n  amongst  the  Ice-Ice-Blink-First  Sight  of  Spitzbergen- 
Wilson-Decayofour  Hopes-Constant  Struggle  with  the  Ic^ 
We  Heach  the  800  N.  lat.-A  Freer  Sea-wf  Land  in  Spitz^ 
gcn-Enghsh  Bay-Lady  Edith's  Glacier-A  Midnight  Photograph 
-No  Remdeerto  be  seen-Et  Ego  In  Arctis-Wintcrin  Sphzen- 
^gen-Ptann.gan-.The  Bear-Saga-The  "Foam"  Monumeut- 
Southwards-^.ght  the  Greenland  Ic<>-A  Gale-Wilson  on  the 
Malstrom-B*Uce„  Ahead-Roost-Taking  a  Sight-Throndhjtm 


162 


\%i 


LETTER  XH. 

Throndhjem-HaraM  Haarfager-King  Hacon's  Last  Battle-Olaf  Tryee- 
Thrr';'"';%"  u°"'r.'''''^"'"-^'-  O'^^-^-Thormod  the  Scald!. 
?l.^^  .„  ]  ^^'"^"'"'"^'-"='"'''  Hardrada-Thc  battle 
of  SUnford  Bndgfr-A  Noric  Ball-Odin-And  his  Paladins 229 

LETTER  XIH. 
Copcniugon-Bergen-The  Black  Death-Sigurdr- Homewards ,37 


'    LETTERS/      , 
FROM  HIGH  LAtlTUDES. 


LETTER  I. 


PROTESILAUS  STUMBLES   ON   THE   THRESHOLD. 

Glasgow,  Monday,  June  2,  1856. 

Our  start  has  not  been  prosperous.     Yesterday  evening 
on  passing  Carlisle,  a  telegraphic  message  was  put  into  my 
hand  announcing  the  fa^t  of  the  -Foam  "  havin-  been 
obliged  to  put  into  Holyhead,  in  consequence  of  the  Sudden 
Illness  of  my  Master.     As  the  success  of  our  expedition 
entirely  depends  on  our  getting  off  before  the  season  is 
further  advahced,  you  can  understand  how  disagreeable  it 
.s  to  have  received  this  check  at  its  very  outset.     As  yet 
of  course,  I  know  nothing  of  the  nature  of  the  illness  with 
which  he  has  been  seized.     However,  I  have  ordered  the 
schooner  to  proceed  at  once  to  Oban,  and  I  have  sent  back 
the  Doctor  to  Holyhead  to  overhaul  the  sick  man.     It  is 
rather  early  in  the  day  for  him  to  enter  upon  tkeexercise 
ot  his  functions. 


.    ) 


LETTER  II. 


THE   ICELANDER — A   MODERN   SIR   PATRICK   SPENS. 

Greenock,  Tuesday,  June  3, 1856. 

I  found  the  Icelander  awaiting  my  arrival  here,— pacing 
up  and  down  the  coffee-room  like  a  Polar  bear. 

At  first  he  was  a  little  shy,  and,  not  having  yet  had  much 
opportunity  of  practising  his  English,  it  was  some  time  be- 
fore I^ould  set  him  perfectly  at  his  ease'.  He  has  some- 
thing so  frank  and  honest  in  his  face  and  bearing,  that  I 
am  certain  he  will  turn  out  a  pleasant^ompanion.  There 
being  no  hatred  so  intensetas  that.whidi  you  feel  towards 
a  disagreeable  shipmate,  this  assurance  has  relieved  me  of 
a  great  anxiety,  and  I  already  feel  I  shall  hereafter  reckon 
Sigurdr  (pronounced  Segurthur),  the  son  of  Jonas,  among" 
the  number  pf  my  best  friends. 

As  most  educated  English  people  firmly  believe  the  Ice- 
landers t9_be  a  :"Squawmuck,".  blubber-eating,  seal-slcin- 
clad  race,  I  think  it  right  to  tell  you  that  Sigurdr  js  ap- 
parelled in  good  broadcloth^nd  all  the  inconveniences  of 
civilization,  his  costume  culminating  in  the  orthodox  chim- 
ney-pot of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  is  about  twenty- 
seven,  very  intelligent-looking,  and— all  women  would 
think— lovely  to  beholfl.  A  high  forehead,  straight,  deli- 
cate features,  dark  blu^e  eyes,  auburn  hair  and  beard,  and 

the   complexion  ofi-Lady  S d  1     His   early  life'  was 

passed  in  Iceland  ;  but  he  is  now  residing  at  Copenhagen  ■ 
as  a  la^^ student.     Through  the  introduction  of  a  mutua] 


■I 


f*. 


H,] 


S//?  PATRICK. 


friend,  he  has  been  induced  to  come  withVe,  and  do  us 
the  hoi^s  of  his  native  land. 

\     "  O  whar  will  I  get  a  skeely  skipper, 
'^  To  sail  this  gude  ship  o'  mine  ? " 

Such,  alas  !  h^  been  the  burden  of  my  song  for  tl^e  last 
four-and-twenly  hpurs,  as  I  h^vQ  sat  m  the  Tontine  'l\)wer  ' 
dnnking  the  bad  pb^rt  wine  ;  f^,  after  spending  a  fortune 
in  telegraphic  messages  to  HolyheiTd,  it  has  been  decidkl 

that  B cannot  come  on,  and  I  have  been  forced  to  rigv 

up  a  Glasgow  merchant  skipper  into  a  jury  sailing-master  \ 
Any  such  arrangement  is,  at  the  best,  unsatisfactory  •     "^ 
but  to  abandon  the  cruise,  is  the  only  alternative.     How-    . 
ever,  considering  I  had  but  a  few  hours  to  look  abput  me, 
I  have  been  more  fortunate  than  might  have  been  expected* 
I  have  had  the  luck  to  stumble  on  a  young  fellow,  very  " 
highly  recommended  by  the  Captain  of  the  Port.     He  re- 
turned just  a  fortnight  ago  from  a  trip  to  Australia,  and 
havmg  since  married  a  wife,  is  naturally  anxious  not  to  lo-e 
this  opportunity  of  going  to  sea  again  for  a  few  months. 

I  start  to-morrow. for  Oban,  via  Inverary,  vvhich  I  wish 
to  show  to  my  Icelander.     At  Oban  I  join  the  schooner 
aiid  proceed  to  Stornaway,  in  the  Hebrides;  whither  the 
undomestic  Mr.  Ebenezer  Wyse  (a  descendant,  probably 
°    *°i^j^^^^^^'^"^   Covenanter)  is   to  follow  me  by  the   ' 


V 


• 

1 

^ \ 

^               ^.  ■  ...4 

LETTER  m. 


-LOCH   COIL— THE  SAGA  OF   CLAN  CAMPBELL.     , 

Oban,  June  5,  1856. 

I  have  seldom  enjoyed  anything  so  niu<  h  as-6ur  journey 
yesterday.    Getting  clear  at  last  of  the  smeUs,  smoke,  noi'se 
and.squalor  of  Greenock,  to  plunge  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  Highland  hills,  robed  as  they  were  in  the  sunshine  of  a 
beautiful  summer  day,  was  enough  to  make  one  beside  one- 
serf  with  delight;  and  the  Icelander  enjoyed  it  as  much  as 
1  did      Having  crossed^he  Clyde,  alive  with  innumerable 
vessels  its  waves  dancing  and  sparkling  in  the  sunlight 
we  suddenly  shot  into  the  still  and  solemn-.  Loch  Goil' 
whose  waters,  dark  with  mountain  shadows,  seemed  almost 
to  belong  to  a  different  element  from  that  of  the  yellow 
rushing,  ship-laden  riv«f  we  had  left.     In  fact,  in  the  space 
of  ten  minutes,  we  had  got  into  another  world,  centuries 
remote  from  the  steaming,  weaving,  delving  Britain,  south 
of  Clyde. 

After  a  sail  of  about  three  hours,  we  reached  the  head 
of  the  loch,  and  then  took  coach  along  the  worst  mountain  ' 
road  in  Europe,  towards  the  country  of  the  World-invading 
Campbell^.  A  steady  pull  of  three  hours  more,  up  a  wild 
bare  glen,  brought  us  to  the  top  of  the  mica-slate  ridge 
which  pens  up  Loch  Fyne,  on  its  western  si^e,  and  dis- 
closed  what  I  have  always  thought  the  lov^iest  scene  in 
Scotland.  '  . 

Far  below  .at  our  feet,  and  stretchin/away  on  either 


III.] 


A  LORDLY  HOUSE. 


hand 
lake. 


among  the  mountains,  lay  the  blue  waters  of  the 


On  Its  other  side,  encompassed  by  a  level  belt  of  pasture- 
land  and  corn-fields,  the  white  little  town  of  Inverary  glit- 
tered like  a  gem  on  the  sea-shore  ;  while  to  the  right,  amid 
lawns^;«lgardens,  and  gleaming  banks  of  wood,  that  hung 
down^nto  the  water,  rose  the  dark  towers  of  the  Castle  ; 
the  whole  environed  by  anramphitheatre  of  tumbled  por- 
phyry hills,  beyond  whose  fir-crowned  crags  rose  the  bare 
blue  mountain-tops  of  Lorn. 

It  was  a  perfect  picturfe  of  peace  and  seclusion,  and  I 
confess  I  had  great  pride  in  being  able  to  show  my  com- 
panion so  fair  a  specimen  of  one  of  our  lordly  island  homes 
—the  birthplace  of  a  race  of  nobles  whose  names  sparkle 
down  the  page  of  their  country's  history  as  conspicuously 
as  the.golden  letters  in  an  illuminated  missal. 

While  descending  towards  the  strand,  I  tried  to  amuse 
Sigurdr  with  a  sketch  of  the  fortunes  of  the  great  house  of 
Argyll. 

I  tdd  him  how  in  ancient  days  three  warriors  came  from 
Green  lerne,  to  dwell  in  the  wild  glens  of  Cowal  and 
Lochow,— how  one  of  them,  the  swart  Breachdan,  all  for 
the  love  of  blue-eyed  Eila,  swam  the  Gulf,  once  with  a  clew 
of  thread,  then  with  a  hempen  rope,  last  with  an  iron  chain  ; 
but  this  time,  alas  !  the  returning  tide  sucks  down  the  over- 
tasked hero  into  its  swirling  vortex  ;  how  Diarmid  O'  Duin, 
/.  f.,  son  of  "  the  Brown,"  slew  with  his  own  hand  the 
mighty  boar,  whose  head  still  scowls  over  the  escutcheon 
of  the  Campbells  ;■— how  in  later  times,  while  the  murdered 
Duncan's  sop,  afterwards  th^  great  Malcolm  Canmore,  was 
yVan  exile  at  the  court  of  his  Northumbrian  uncle,  ere 
Birnam  wood  had  marched  to  Dunsinane,  the  first  Camp- 
b.ell  /.  e.,  Campus-bellus,  Beau-champ,  a  Norman  knight  and 
nephew  of  the  Conqueror,  having  won  the-  hand  of  the 
Lady  Kva,  sole  heiress  of  the  race  of  Diarmid,  became 


*> 


"a 

I 


l< 


^-^<J  ^£rT£A's/>v^oM///G//LAr/T[/n£s:        riii. 

Piaster  of  the-  lands  and,  lordship^  of  Argyll ;  how  six  een 
erauons  later-each  of  ihem  notable  In   their  dav     Z 
vahanl^Sir  Colin  created  for  his  posterity  a   ilepTo";^^^^^ 
t^n  any  ,,,  j     ,  sovereign's.power  to  b'stow;  wh L,  t 
forfeuure  could  attaint,  no  act  of^parliament  recal      for 
U.ough  he  cease  to  be  Duke  or  Earl,  the  head  of    h    tan 
Campbell  will  still  remain  Mac  Calan  More-.nd  L       .     " 
ast  the  samei^.C^i„  /ell  at  the  String  of  c'owafbenTath 

i'xt/dt^r^ 

he  corone    of  h-.   T"  1  '"  '""  '"''''^^^  ^^^  -""^^i' 
Neill  J  R  .t     ^'"   f^^'"^"'^  descendant;   how  Sijt 

wftose  sister  he  had  married;  how  Colin,  (he.  first  F-^rl-' 
woed  and  won  the  Lady  Isabel,  sprung  frc^m  the  rice  of     '  ' 
Somerled    Lord  of  the  Isles,  thus  adding  the  gal  ev    o 
Lorn  to  the  blazonry  of  Argyll  ;-how  thf  next'Sied 
a   P^odden,  and  his  successor  fought  not  less  disa^^us  y 
at  P,nk,e  ;-how  Archibald,  fifth  Earl,  whos«  wife  was  ^ 
supper  with  the  Queen, -her  half-sister,  when«i^.ioL, 
hTnd  oT  t'h''^"  ^"  '\''''  Of  Langside;smi:ter;    vTh        " 

bv  the  nrtni^r,7  r.f  Tj     .7  ,  oeing  swept  down      - 

Dy  tne  artillery  of  Huntley  and  Errol,— destined  to  r^mM 
h.s  spurs  in  future  years  on  the  soil  of  Spain  ^ 

Ihen  I  told  him  of  the  Great  Rebellion,  and  how  amid 

^spie  Grumach  as  fiis  .quint  caused  him  to  be  called-- 
Montrose's  fatal  foe,  staked  life  and  fortunes  in  the  deadiv 
game  engaged  in  by" tl,e  Herce  spirits  ^^f  .hat  ^rlS 
and  losing,  paid  the  forfeit  with  his  head,  as  cafmly  as  be' 

winch  his  son-already  twice  rescued  from  the  scaffold 
once  by  a  daughter  of  the  ever-gallant  house  of  Lindsay; 


•      .  I 


Jir.]    -^  THE  SAGA  OF  CLA^r  CAMPBELL.  7 

again  a  prisoner,  and  a  rebel,  because  four  years  too  soon 
to  be  a  patriot— as  nobly  imitated— ;  how,  tit  last?  the 
clouds  of  misfortune  cleared  away,  and  honors  clustered 
where  only  merit  liad  been  before  ;  the  martyr's  ayreolc, 
almost  become  hereditary,  being  replaced  in  the  next  gen- 
eration by  a  ducal  coronet,  itself  to  be  regilt  jn  its  turn 
with  a  less  sinister  lustre  by  him — 

"  The  State's  whole  thunder  born  to  wield,  \ 
And  shake  alike  the  senate  and  the  field  ';  '^ 

who  IJaffled  Walpole  in  the  cabinet,  and  conquered  with 
Marlborou^i  at  Ramilies,  Oudenarde,  and  Malplaqyet  ;— 
and,  last,— how  at  that  present  moment,  even  while  we  were 
speaking,' the  beiiMo  all  these  noble  reminiscences,  the 
young  chief  of  his  princely  line,  had  already  won,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-nine,  by  the  manly  vigor  of  his  intellect  and- 
his  liereditary  independence  of  character,  the  confidence 
of  his  follow  countrymen,  and  a  seat  at  the  council  board 
"of  his  sovereign. 

■  Having  thus  duly  indoctrinated  Sigurdr  with  the  Sagas 
(if  tije  family,  as  soon  as  we  had  crossed  the  lake  I  took 
hun  up  to  the  Castle,  and  acted  cicerone  to  its  pictures 
and  heirlooms,^the  gleaming  stands  of  muskets,  whoso 
fire  wrought  such  fatal  ruin  at  Culloden  ;-the  portrait  of 
the  beautiful  Irish  girl,  twice  a  Duchess,  whom  the  cun- 
mng  artist  has  painted  with  a  sunflower  that  turns  from 
the,  sun  to  look  at  her;-Gillespie  Grumach  himself,  as 
gnm  and  sinister-looking  as  in  life ;  the  trumpets  to  carrV 
the  voice  from  the  hall  door  to  Dunnaquaich  ;_the  fair 

wm  th'"""'"'  ^'r'^^  '^  ^'^  "•'^  ^^••^-^'  "-^^  looking 
with  their  smooth  gre;.  boles,  and  overhanging  branches 
hke  the  cloister,  of  an  abbey  ;-the  vale  ofVechasan,"  to 
which,  on  the  evening  before  his  execution,  the  Earl  wrote 
such  touching  verses  ;  the  quaint  old  kitchen-garden  •  the 
rums  of  the  ancient  Castle,  where  worthy  Major  Daliettv 
>s  said  to  have  passed  such  uncomfortable  moments     the 


/' 


,f:- 


'4. 


v,^ 


. 


8 


LETTERS  FROM  UIGH  LA  TITUDES. 


III. 


Celtic  cross  from  lone  lona ;  all  and  everything  I  showed' 
off  with  as  much  pride  and  pleasure,  I  think,  as  if  they  hacj^ 
been  my  own  possessions;  and  the  more  so  ||s' th&  Icq- 
lander  himself  evidently  sympathirc;^  with  such  'ScaldrTike 
gossip.  l  ' 

Having  thoroughly  overrun  the  woods  and  lawns  o^  In- 
verary,  we  had  a  gamq  of  chess,  and  went  to  bed  pretty 
well  tired.  ^.     , 

-  The  next  morning,  before  breakfast,  Iwent  off  in  a 
boat  to  Ardkinglass  to  see  my  little  cousins  ;  and  then  re- 
turning about  twelve,  we  got  a  post-chaise,  and  crossing 
the  boastful  Loch  Awe  in  a  ferry-boat,  reached  Oban  at 
nightfall.  Here  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  the 
schooner  already  arrived,  and  of  being  joined  by  the 
Doctor,  just  returned  from  his  fruitless  expedition  to  Holy- 
head, ♦ 


\  ■' 


«**'«*«iW*<^W 


4, 


'^-■^ 


i  \  ■' 

n-    !  / 


LETfER  IV. 


^■ 


THROUGH  THE  SOUhfDS — STORNAWAY — THE' SETTING  UP  OF 
THE  FIGURE-HEAD — FITZ'S  FORAY — OH  WEEL  MAY  THE 
I|OATIE  ROW,  THAT  WINS  THE  HAIRNS'  BREAD  —  SIR 
PATRICK  SPENS   JOINS — UP  ANCHOR. 


Stornaway,  Island  of  Lewis,  Hebrides, 
June  9,  1856.    . 


( 


We  reached  these  Islands  of  .the  West  the  day  before 
yesterday,  after  a  fine'Vun  froin'X^tran. 

I  had  intended  taking  Staffa  and  Idnaon  my  way,  but 
it  came  on  so  thick  with  heavy  weather  from  the  south- 
west, that  to  have  landed  on  cither  island  would  have  been 
out  of  the  question.  So  we  bore  up  under  Mull  at  one  in 
the  morning,  tore  through  the  Sound  at  daylight,  rounded 
Ardnamurchan  under  a  double-reefed  mainsail  at  W'o  p.  m., 
and  shot  into  the  Sound  of  Skye  the  same  evening,  leaving 
the  hills  of  Moidart  (one  of  whose  "seven  men"  was  an 
ancestor  of  your  own),  and  the  jaws  of  the  hospitable  Loch 
Hourn,  reddening  in  the  stormy  sunset. 

-At  Kylakin  wfe,  were  obliged  to  bring  up  for  the  night  ; 
but  getting  under  weigh  again  at  dnylight,  we  took  a  fair 
wind  with  us  along  the  east  coast  of  Skye,  passed  Raasa 
and  Rona,  and  so  across  the  Minch  to  Stornaway. 

Stornaway  is  a  little  fishing  town  with  a  beautiful  har--" 
bor,  from  out  of  which  was  sailing,  as  we  entered,  a  fleet,, 
of   herring  boats,   their  brown    sails  gleaming  like   gold  ^ 
against  the  dark  angry  water  as  they  fluttered  out  to  sea, 


C 


u 


;,  Y  •  .iT  iff 


l"'t  .„■>■. 


<c5> 


>«^ 


O^ 


'■'.it}-'* 


[f*^ 


»0  LETTERS  FROM  J.'IGII  LA  T/TUDES.  '  [IV. 

unmindful  of  the  leaden  clouds  banked  up  along  the  west, 
and  all  the  symptoms  of  an  approaching  gale.  The  next 
morning  it  was  upon  us  ;  but  brought  up  as  we  were  under 
the  16e  of  a  high  rock,  the  tempest  tore  harmlessly  over 
our  heads,  and  left  us:.at  liberty  to  make^the  final  prepara- 
tions for  departure. 

Fitywhose  talents  for  discerning  where  the  vegetables, 
fo^ijvand  pretty  ladies  of  a  place  were  to  be  found,  I  had 
already  had  occasion  to  admire,  wenC^shore  to  forage ; 
while  I  renfained  on  board  to  superintend  the  fixing  of  our 
sacred  figure  head— executed  in  bronze  by.  Marochetti— 
and  brought  along  with  me  by  rail,  still  warm  from  the 
furnace. 

For  the  performance  of  this  solemnity  I  luckily  pos- 
sessed a  functionary  equal  tp  the  occasion,  in  the  shape  of 
the  second  cook.     Originally  a  guardsman,  he  had  beaten 
his  sword  into  a  chisel,    and  become  carpenter;    subse- 
quently conceiving  a  passion  for  the  sea,  he  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  mysteries  of  the  kitchen,  .uid  now  sails  with 
me  in  the  alternate  exercise  of  his  two  last  professions. 
This  individual,  thus  happily  combining  the  chivalry  in- 
herent in  the  profession  of  arms  with  the  sl^ill  of  the  crafts- 
man and  the  refinement  of  the"  artist— to  whose  person, 
moreover,  a  paper  cap,  white  vestments,  and  the  sacrificial 
knife  at  his  girdle,  gave  something  of  a  sacerdotal  ciiarac- 
ter— I  did  not  consider  unfit  to  raise  the  ship's  guardian 
image  to  its  appointed  place ;  and  after  two  hcAirs'  rever- 
ential handiwork,  I  had  tjie  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  well- 
•  known  lovely  face,  with  its  golden  hair,  and  smile  that 
might  chai-m  all  malice  from  the  elements,  beaming  like  a 
happy  omen  above  our  bows. 

Shortly,  afterwards  Fitz  came  alongside,  after  a  most 
successful  foray  among  the  fish-wives.     He  was  sitting  in 
the  stern-sheets,  up  to  his  knees  in  vegetables,  with  seven 
_g!Jgr!y.Jlg'»lbes'dg  hiMi,  and  n(lissipat'.'d  laokinjr  cock  uo^^ 


IV.] 


S/A'  /'A  T/i/CA-'S  GOLD  CHAIN. 


II 


der  his  arm,  witii  regard  to  whose  qualifications  its  late 
proprietor  had  volunteered  the  most  satisfactory  assur- 
ances. I  am  also  bound  to  mention,  that  protruding  from 
his  coat-pocket  were  certain  sheets  of  music,  with  the 
name  of  "  Alice  Louisa,"  written  therein  in,  a  remarkably 
pretty  hand,  whicii  led  me  to  believe  that  the  Doctor  had 
not  entirely  confined  his  energies  to  the  acquisition  of  hens 
and  vegetables.  The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  packing 
,  away  our  newly-purchased  stores,  and  making  the  ship  as 
tidy  as  circumstances  would  admit.  I  am  afraid,  however, 
many  a  smart  yachtsman  would  have  been  scandalized  at 
our  decks,  lumbered  up  with  hen-coops,  sacks  of  coal,  and 
other  necessaries,  which,  like  the  Queen  qf  Spain's  legs, 
not  only  ought  never  to  be  seen,  but  must  not  be  supposed 
even  to  exist,  on  board  a  tip  top  craft. 

By  the  evening,  the  gale,  which  had  been  blowing  all 
day,  had  increased  to  a  perfect  hurricane.  At  nine  o'clock 
we  let  go  a  second  anchor ;  and  I  confess,  as  we  sat  com- 
fortably round  the  fire  in  the  bright  cheerful  little-  cabin, 
and  listened  to  the  wind  whistling  and  shrieking  through 
the  cordage,  that  none  of  us  were  sorry  to  find  ourselves 
in  port  on  such  a  night,  instead  of  tossing  on  the  wild  At- 
lantic—though we  little  knew  that  even  then  the  destroy- 
ing angel  was  busy  with 'the  fleet  of  fishing  boats  which 
had  put  to  sea  so  gallantly  on  the  evening  of  our  arrival. 
By  morning  the  neck  of  the  gale  was  broken,  and  th^  sun 
shone  brightly  on  the  white  rollers  as  they  chased  each 
other  to  the  shore ;  but  a  Queen's  ship  was  steaming  into 
the  bay,  with  sad  news  of  ruin  out  to  seaward, — towing  be- 
hind her,  boats,  water-logged,  or  bottom  upwards,— while 
a  silent  crowd  of  women  on  the  quay  were  waiting  to  learn 
on  what  homes  among  them  the  bolt  had  fallen. 

About  twelve  o'clock  the  Glasgow  packet  came  in,  and  a 
few  minutes  afterwards  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  on 
H»y  quarter-deck  a  gentleman  who  seemed  a  Cross  Between" 


^ 


12 


LETTERS  FROM  I/IGH  LATITUDES. 


[IV. 

the  German  student  and  the  swell  commercial  gent.  On  h  s 
head  he  wote  a  queer  kjnd  of  smoking-cap,  with  the  peak 
cocked  over  his  left  ear;  then  came  a  green  shooting 
jacket,  and  flashy  silk  tartan  waistcoat,  set  off  by  a  gold 
chain,  hung  about  in  innumerable  festoons, — while  light 
trousers  and  knotty  W«llington  boots  completed  his  cos- 
tume, and  made  the  wftirer  look  as  little  like  a  seaman  as 
need  be.  It  appeared,  nevertheless,  that  the  individual  in 
question  was  Mr.  Ebenezer  Wyse,  my  new  sailing-master; 
so  I  accepted  Captain  C.'s  strong  recommendation  as  a 
set-off  against  the  silk  tartan  ;  explained  to  the  new  comer 
the  position  he  was  to  occupy  on  board,  and  gave  orders 
for  sailing  in  an  hour.  The  multitudinous  chain,  more- 
over, so  lavishly  displayed,  turned  out  to  be  an  ornament 
of  which  Mr.  Wyse  might  well  be  proud  ;  and  the  follow- 
ing history  of  its  acquisition  reconciled  me  more  than  any- , 
tning  else  to  my  Master's  unnautical  appearance. 

Some  time  ago  there  was  a  great  demand  in  Australia 
for  small  river  steamers,  which  certain  Scotch  companies 
undertook  to  supply.  The  difficulty,  however,  was  to  get 
such  fragile  tea-kettles  across  the  ocean  ;  five  started  one 
after  another  in  murderous  succession,  and  each  came  to 
grief  before  it  got  half  way  to  the  equator  ;  the  sixth  alone 
remained  with  which  to  try  a  last  experiment.  Should  she 
arrive,  her  price  would  more  than  compensate  the  pecuni- 
ary loss  already  sustained,  though  it  could  not  bring  to  life 
the  hands  sacrificed  in  the  mad  speculation ;  by  this  time,  • 
however,  even  the  proverbial  recklessness  of  the  seamen 
of  the  port  was  daunted,  and  the  hearts  of  two  crews  had 
already  failed  them  at  the  l^st  moment  of  starting,  when 
niy  friend  of  the  chain  volunteered  to  takf;  the  command. 
At  the  outset  of  his  voyage  ever)'thing  went  well ;  a  fair 
wind  (her  machinery  was  stowed  away,  and  she  sailed  un- 
der canvas)  carried  the  little  craft  in  an  incredibly  short 
time  a  thousand  miles  to  the  southward  of  the  Cape,  when 


IV.] 


S/R  PATRICK'S  GOLD  CHAIN. 


13 


one  day,  as  she  was  running  before  the  gale,  the  man  at 
the  wheel — startled  at  a  sea  which  he  thought  was  going 
to  poop  her — let  go  the  helm  ;  the  vessel  broached  to,  and 
tons  of  water  tumbled  in  on  the  top  of  the  deck.  As  soon 
as  the  confusion  of  the  moment  had  subsided,  it  became 
evident  that  the  shock  had  broken  some  of  the  iron  plates, 
and  that  the  ship  was  in  a  fair  way  of  foundering.  So 
frightened  were  the  crew,  that,  after  consultation  with  each 
other,  they  determined  to  take  to  the  boats,  and  all  Jiands 
came  aft,  to  know  whether  there  was  anything  the  skipper 
would  wish  to  carry  off  with  him.  Comprehending  the 
madness  of  attempting  to  reach  land  in  open  boats  at  the 
distance  of  a  thousand  miles^rom  any  shore,  Wyse  pre- 
tended to  go  into  the  cabin  to  get  his  compass,  chronom- 
eter, etc.,  but  returmng  immediately  with  a  ret^olver  in 
each  hand,  s\yore  he  would  shoot  the  first  man  who  at- 
tempted to  touch  the  boats.  This  timely  exhibition  of 
spirit  saved  their  lives :  soon  after  theweather  moderated  ; 
by  undergirding  the  ship  with  cjiains,  St.  Paul  fashion,  the 
leaks  were  partially  stopped,  the  steamer  reached  her  des- 
tination, and  was  sold  for  7,qoo/<  a  few  days  after  her  ar- 
rival In  token  of  thqk  gratitude  for  the  good  service  he 
had  done  them,  the  company  presented  Mr.  Wyse  on  his 
return  with  a  gold  watch,  and  the  chain  he  wears  so  glori- 
ously outside  the  sUk  tartan  waistcoat. 

And  now,  good-bye.  I  hear  the  click-click  of  the  ch?iin 
as  they  heave  the  anchor  j  I  am  rather  tired  and  exhaust- 
ed with  all  the  worry  of  the  last  two  months,  and  shall  be 
heartily  glad  to  get  to  sea,  where  fresh  air  will  set  me  up 
again,  I  hope,  in  a  few  days.  My  next  letter  will  be  from 
Iceland  ;  and,  please  God,  before  I  see  English  land  again, 
I  hope  to  have  many  a  story  to  tell  you  of  the  islands  that 
are  washed  by  the  chill  waters  of  the  Arctic  Sea. 


Wi-i,'^'*':'    -;i»«itv-,.  L."1|.';-,  <'^ 


LETTER  VfS^ 


THE   NORTH   ATLANTIC — SPANISH    WAVES OUR   CABIN   IN    A 

GALE — SEA-SICKNESS  FROM  A  SCIENTIFIC  POINT  OF  VIEW 
—  WILSON  —  A  PASSENGER  COMMITS  SUICIDE  —  FIRSl 
SIGHT  OF  ICELAND— FLOKI  OF  THE  RAVENS — THE  NORSE 
MAYFLOWER — FAXA    FIORD— WE   L/^D  IN  THULE. 

REYKjAvik,  Iceland,  June  21,  1855. 

We  have  landed  in  Thule  !  When,  in  parting,  you  moan- . 
,ed„,so  at  the  thought  of  not  being  able  to  hear  of  our  safe 
arrival,  I  knew  there  would  be  an  opportunity  of  writing  to 
you  almost  immediately  after  reaching  Iceland  ;  but  I  said 
nothing  about  it  at  the  time,  lest  something  should  delay 
this  letter,  and  you  be  left  to  imagine  all  kinds  of  doleful 
reasons  for  its  non-appearance.  We  anchored  in  Reyk^ 
javik  harbour  this  afternoon  (Saturday).  H.  M.  S.  "  CoquetU" 
sails  for  England  on  Monday  ;  so  that  within  a  week  you, 
will  get  this. 

For  the  last  ten  days  we  have  been  leading  the  life  of  the 
"  Flying  Dut^man.!'  Never  do  I  remember  to  Lve  had 
such  a  dusting :  foul  winds,  gales,  and  calms— or  rathci 
breathing  spaces,  which  the  galfe  took  occasionally  to  muster 
up  fresh  energies  for  a  blow— with  a  heavy  head  sea,  that 
prevented  our  sailing  even  when  we  got  a  slant.  On  the 
afternoonofthe  day  we  quitleil  Stornaway,  I  got  a  notion 
liow  it  w^-gorng  to  be  ;  the  sun  went  angrily  down  behind 
a  i»ank  of  oolid  grey  cloud,  and  by  the  time  we  \*ere  up 
with  the  Bdtt  of  Lewis,  the  whole  sky  was  in  tatters,  and  the 
mercury  nowhere,  with  a  heavy  swell  from  the  north-west. 


'<; 


V.]- 


TRE4  TMENT  FOR  SEA  SICKNESS. 


^s 


As,  two  years  before,  I  had  spept  a  week-in  trying  to  beat 
through  the  Roost  of  Sumburgh  under  double-reefed  try- 
sails, I  was  at  home  in  the  weathe^  and  guessing  we  were 
in  for  it,  sent  down  the  topmasts,  stowed  the  boats  on  board, 
handed  the  foresail,  rove  the  ridgeVopes,  _and  reefed  all 
down.  By  midnight  it  blew  a  gale,  which  continued  with- 
out intermissron  until  the  day  we  sighted  Iceland  ;  some- 
times increasing  to  a  hurricane,  but  broken  now  and  then 
by  sudden  lulls,  which  used  to  leave  us  for  a  couple  of  hours 
at  a  time  tumbling  about  on  the  top  of  the  great  Atlantic 
rollers — or  Spariish  waves,  as  they  are  called — until  I 
thoiiglit  the  ship  would  roll  the  masts  oiit  of  her.  Why 
they  should  be  called  Spanish  Waves,  no  one  seems  to  know  ; 
but  I  had  always  heard-the  seas  were  heavier  here  than  in 
any  other  part  of  the  world,  and  certainly  they  did  not  belie 
their  character.  The  little  ship  l;)ehaved  beautifully,  and 
many  a  vessel  twice  her  size  would  have  been  less  comfort- 
able. Indeed,  few  peopte  can  have  any  notion  of  the  cosi- 
ness of  a  yacht's  cabin  under  such  circumstances.  After 
having  remained  for  several  hours  on  deck,  in  the  presence 
of  the  tempest, — peering  through  the  darkness  at  those 
black  liquid  walls  of  water,  mounting  above  you  in  cease- 
less agitation,  or  tumbling  over  in  cataracts  of  gleaming 
foam, — 'the  wind  roaring  through  the  rigging, — timbers 
creaking  as  if  the  ship  would  break  its  heart, — the  spray 
and  rain  beating  in  your  face,— everything  around  in  tumult, 
suddenly  to  descend  into  the  quiet  of  a  snug,  well-lighted 
little  cabin,  with  the  firelight  dancing  on  the  white  rosebud 
chintz,  the  well-furnished  book-shelves,  and  all  the  innum- 
erable nick-nacks  that  deqbrate  its  walls, — little  Edith's 
portrait  looking  so  serene,-*— everything  about  you  as  bright 
anfj,  fresh  as  a  lady's  boUdoir  in  May  Fair, — the  certainty 
of  being  a  good  thre^  fjiindred  miles  from  any  tfpublesomc 
l,f  shore, — all  combine  ^inspire  a  feeling  of  comfart  and  se- 

curity di-fficult  to  desti^ribe. 


^%\ 


"U       'I 


i6 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


[V. 


y^ 


These  pleasures,  indeed,  fo!  the  first  days  of  our  voyage,  ^ 
the  Icelander  had  pretty  much  to  himself.  I  was  laid  up 
with  a  severe  bout  of  illness  I  had  long  felt  coming  on,  and 
Fitz  was  sea-sick.  \  must  say,  however,  I  never  saw  any 
one  behave  with  more  pluck  and  resolution  ;  and  when  we 
return,  the  first  thing  you  clo  must  be  to  thank  him  for  his 
kindness  to  me  on  that  occasion.  Though  himself  almost 
prostrate,  he  looked  after  me  as  indefatigably  as  if  he  had 
already  found  his  sea  legs  ;  and,  sitting  down  on  the  cabin- 
floor,  with  a  basin  on  one  side  of  him,  dnd  a  pestle  and 
mortar  on  the  other,  used  to  manufacture  my  pills,  between 
the  paroxysms  of  his  malady,  with  a  decorous  pertinactty 
that  could  not  be  too  much  admired. 

Strangely  enough,  too,  his  state  of  unhappines's  lasted  a 
few  d^ys  longer  than  the  eight-and-forty  hours  which  are 
generally  sufficient  to*  set  people ,.  on  their  ^eet  again.  I 
tried  to  console  him  by  representing  what  an  occasion  it 
was  for  observing  the  phenomena  of  sea-sickness  from  a  I 
scientific  point  of  view ;  and  I  must  say  he  set  to  work 
m9st  conscientiously  to  discover  some  remedy.  Brandy,_  • 
prussic  acid,  opium,  Qhampagne,  ginger,  mutton-chops,  and 
tumblers  of  salt-water,  were  successively  exhibited  ;  but, 
I  regret  to  say,  after  a  few  minutes,  each  in  ^uru  r^-exhibited 
itself  with  monotonous  punctuality.  Indeed,  at  one  time 
we  thought  he  would  never  get  over ;  and  the  following 
conversation,  which  I  overheard  one  morning  between  him 
and  my  scfvant,  did  not  brighten  his  hopes  of  recovery. 

This  person's  name  is  Wilson,  and  of  all  men  I  ever  met 
he  is  the  most  desponding.  Whatever  rs  to  be  done,  he  is 
sure  to  see  a  lion  in  the  path.  Life  in  his  eyes  is  a  perpe- 
tual filling  of  leaky  buckets,  and  a  rolling  of  stones  up  hill.  • 
He  is  amazed  when  the  bucket  holds  water,  or  the  stone 
perch^  on  the  summit.  .He  professes  but  a  limited  belief 
in  his  star, — and  success  with  him  is  almost  a  disappoint- 
ment.    His  countenance  corresponds  with  the  prevailing    j 


% 


\ 


% 


v.] 


FIRST  SIGHT  OF  ICELAND. 


17 


character  of  his  thoughts,  always  hopelessly  chapfallen ; 
his  voice  is  as  of  the  tomb.  He  brushes  my  clothes,  lays 
the  cloth,  opens  the  champagne,  ^ith  the  air  of  one  advan- 
cing to  his  execution^!. have  never  seen  him  smile  but  once, 
when  he*came,tp  report  to  me  that  a  sea  had  nearly  swept 
his  colleague,  the  steward,  overboard.  The  son  of  a  gard- 
ener at  Chiswick,  he  first  took  to  horticulture ;  then  emig- 
rated as  a  settler  to  the  Cape,  where  he  acquired  his  pres- 
ent complexion,  which  is  of  a  grass-green  ;  and  finally  ser- 
ved asca  steward  on  board  an  Australian  steam-packet. 

.  Thinking  to  draw  consolation  from  his  professional  ex- 
periences, I  heard  Fitz's  voice,  now  very  weak,  say  in  a  tone 
of  coaxing  cheerfulness, — 

5  "  WelJ^^'ilsen,  I  suppose  this  kind  of  thing  does  not  last 
long?" 

The  Voice,  as  of  the  tomb. — "  I  don't  know.  Sir." 

Fitz. — "  Bur  you  must  have  often  seen  passengers  sick." 

The  Voice. — ^' Often,  Sir  ;/'^r)' sick." 

Fitz. — "  Well,  and  on  aij/iaverage,  how  soon  did  they  re 
cover?"  '*  ■ 

The  Voice. — "  Some  of  them  didn't  recover.  Sir." 

Fitz.—"  Well,  but  those  that  did?  " 

The  Voice. — "  I  know'd  a  clergyman*  and  his  wife  as  were 
ill  all  the  voyage  ;  five  mbnths,  Sir." 
'    Fitz. — (Quite  silent.)  •  '. 

The  Voice  ;  now  become  sepulchral. — They  sometimes  dies, 
Sir." 

Fitz.—''  Ugh  !  "  ' 

Before  the  endrof  the  voyage,  however,  this  Job's  com- 
forter himself  fell  ill,  and  the  Doctor  amply  revenged  him- 
self by  prescribing  for  him.  .    < 

Shortly  after  this,  a  very  melancholy  occurrence  took 
place.  I  had  observed  for  Some  days  past,  as  we  proceed- 
ed north,  and  the  nights  became  shorter,  that  the  cock  we 
shipped  at  Stornaway  had  became  quite  bewildered  on  the 


i8 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


[v. 


subject  of  that  meteorological  phenomenon  called  the  Dajvn 
of  Day.  In  fact,  I  doubt  whether  he  ever  slept  for  more 
.than  five  minutes  ^t  a  stretch,  without  waking  up  in  afstate 
of  ne^ous  agitation,  lest  it  should  be  cock-crow,  Af  last, 
when  night  ceased  altogether,  his  constitution  co^  no 
longer  stand  the  shock.  He  crowed  once  or  twice  sarcasti- 
cally, then  went,  melancholy  mad  :  finally,  taking  a  calen- 
ture, he  cackled  lowly  (probably  of  green  fields),  and  leap- 
ing overboard,  drowned  himself.  The  mysterious  manner 
iri  which  eVery  day  a  fresh  member  of  his  harem  used  to 
disappear,  may  also  have  preyed  upon  his  spirits. 

At  last,  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth  day,  we  began  to 
look  out  for  land.  The  weather  had  greatly  improved 
during  the  night ;  and,  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  the 
Hebrides,  the  sun  had  got  the  better  9f  the  clouds,  and 
driven  them  in  confusion  before  his  face.  The  sea,  losing 
its  dead  leaden  color,  had  become  quite  crisp  and  burnish- 
ed, darkling  into  a  deep  sapphire  bliie  against  the  horizon  ; 
beyond  which,  at  about  nine  o'clock,  there  suddenly  shot 
up  towards  the  zenith,  a  pale,  gold  aureole,  such  as  precedes 
the  appearance  of  the  good  fairy  at  a  pantomime  farce ; 
then,  gradually  lifting  its  huge  back  above  the  water,  rose 
a  silver  pyramid  of  snow,  which  1  knew  must  be  the  cone 
of  an  ice  mountain,  miles  away  in  the  interior  of  the  island. 
From  the  moment  we  got  hold  of  the  land,  our  cruise,  as 
you  may  suppose,  doubled  in  interest.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever the  fair  morning  did  not  keep  its  promise  ;  about  one 
o'clock,  the  glittering  mountain  vanished  in  mist ;  the  sky 
again  became  like  an  inverted  pewter  cup,  and  we  had  to 
return  for  two  more  days  to  our  old  practice  of  threshing 
to  windward.  So  provoked  was  I  at  this  relapse  of  the 
weather,  that,  perceiving  a  whale  blowing  convenient,  I  could 
not  help  suggesting  to  Sigurdr,  son  of  Jonas,  that  it  was  an 
.  occasion  for  observing  the  traditions  of  his  family ;  but  he  ex- 
cused himself  on  the  plea  of  their  having  become  obsolete. 


I 


^ 


v.] 


X  SA  y  of-  FAXyt  F/OJiI>. 


«9 


The  niountiih  we  had  seim  in  the  morning  was  the  south 
east  extremity  o£\the  Island,  yie  very  landfall  made  by  one 
of  its  first  discoverjcrs.^  This  gentleman  not  having  a  com- 
pass, (he,  liv^d  about  a.  d.  864.)  not^knowing  exactly  where 
the  land  lay,  took  on  board  with  him",  at  starting,  three 
cohsecraited-  ravens — as  an  M.  P.  would  take  diree  well 
trained  pointers  to  his  moor.  Having  sailed  a  certain 
distance  he  let  loose!  one,  which  flew  back  :  by  this  he  judged' 
he  had  not  got  half-way.  Proceeding  lonwards,  he  loosed 
the  second,  wpich  after  circling  in  the  air  fop  some  min- 
utes in  apparent  uncertainty,  also  jnade  off  home,  as  though 
it  still  remained  a  nice  point  which  were  the  shorter  courge 
towards  terra  firma.  »  But  the  third,  on  obtaining  his  liberty 
a  few  days  later,  flew  forward,  and  by  following  the  direc- 
tion in  which  he  had  disappeared,  Rabna  Floki,  or  Floki 
of  the  Ravens,  as  he  came  to  be  called,  triumphantly  ftiade 
the  land.  . 

The  real  colonists  did  not  arrive  till  some  years  later, 
for  I  do  not  much  believe  a  story  they  tell  of  Christian  rel- 
ics, supposed  to  have  been  left  by  Irish,- fishermen, 
found  on  the  Westmann  islands.  A  Scandinavian  king, 
nf^med  Harold  Haarfager  (a  contemporary  of  our  own  King 
Alfred's)  having  murdered,  burnt,  and  otherwise  extermi- 
nated"^ll  his  brother  kings  who  at  that  time  grew  4s  thick 
as  blackberries  in  Norway,  first  consolidated  their  domin- 

I  There  is  in  Strabo  an  account  of  a  voyage  made  by  a  citizen  of 
the  Greek  colony  of  Marseilles,  in  the  time  of  Alej^ander  the  Great, 
through  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  along  the  coasts  of  France  and  Spain 
up  the  English  Channel,  and  so  across  the  North  Sea,  past  an  island 
he  calls  Thule ;  hjs  further  progress,  he  asserted,  was  hindered  by  a 
barrier  of  a  peculiar  nature, — neither  earth,  air,  nor  sky,  but  a  compound 
of  all  three,  forming  a  thick  viscid  substance  which  it  was  impossible 
to  penetrate.  Now,  whe^er  this  same  Thule  was  one  of  the  Shetland 
islands,  and  the  impassable  substance  merely  a  fog, — or  Island,  and 
the  barricade  beyond,  a  wall  of  ice,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Probably 
Pythias  did  not  get  beyond  the  Shetlands. 


'S^ 


I  i^.?JS,^^A'3.tL  ^  ^{:i 


20 


LET7ERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


[V. 


ions  into  one  realm,  as  Edgar  did  the  Heptarciiy,  and  then 
proceeded  to  invade  the  Udal  rights  of  the  landholders. 
Some  0*  them  animated  with  that  love  of  liberty  innate  in 
llie  race  of  the  noble  Northmen,  rather  than  submit  to  his 
oppressions,  determined  to  look  for  a  new  home  amid  the 
desolate  regions  of  the  icy  sea.  Freighting  a  dragon-shap- 
ed galley — the  "  Mayflower  "  of  the  period — with  their  wives 
and  children,  and  all  the  household  monuments  that  were 
dear  to  them,  they  saw  the  blue  peaks  of  their  dear  Nor- 
way hills  sink  down  into  the  sea  behind,  and  manfully  set 
their  face  towards  the  west,  where — some  vague  report  had 
v/hispered — a  new  land  might  be  found.  Arrived  in  sight 
of  Iceland,  the  leader  of  the  expedition  threw  the  sacred^ 
pillars  belonging  to  his  former  dwelling  into  the  water,  in 
order' that  the  gods  might  determine  the.  site  of  his  ^ugw 
home  :  carried  by  the  tide  n6  one  could  say  in  what  direc- 
tion, they  were  at  last  discovered,  at  the  end  of  three  years, 
in  a  sheltered  bay  on  the  west  side  of  the  island,  and  Ingolf  i 
came  and  abo^e  there,  and  the  place  became  in  the  course 
of  yelu-s  Reykjavik,  the  capital  of  the  country. 

Sigurdr  having  scouted  the  idea  of  acting  Iphigeni^, 
there  was  nothing  for  it  but  steadily  to  beat  over  the 
remaining  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  which  still  separated  us 
from  Cape  Reikianess.  After  going  for  two  days  hard  at 
it,  and  sighting  the  Westmann  islands,  we  ran  plump  into 
a  fog,  and  lay  to.  In  a  few  hours,  however,  it  cleared  up 
into  a  lovely  sui^ny  day,  with  a  warm  summer  breeze  just 
rippling  up  the  water.  Before  us  lay  the  long'  wished-for 
Cape,  \^  the  Meal-sack, — a  queer  stump  of  basalt,  that 
flops  u^out  of  the  sea,  fifteen  miles  south-west  of  Cape 
Reikiai^ess,  its  flat  top  white  with  guano,  like  the  mouth  of 
a  bag  of  ikt^r^^r-five  miles  on  our  port  bow  ;  and  seldom 
Have  I  remembered   a  pleasanter  four-and-twenty  hours 

I  It  was  in  consequence  of  a  domestic  feud  that  Ingolf  himself  waa 
forced  to  emigrate. 


/ 


\ 


-  >.rS^^i,i-^:4i;'S^«Jc^'V:tv;A*ifi.y. 


•      >> 


\ 


V.J 


HA  y  OF  FAX. 


\  \ 


i  FIORD.  \    \ 


than  those  spent  4»tealing  up  along  ^he  gnarled  and  crum- 
pled lava  flat  that  forms  the  wt  stern  coast  of  .Guldbrand 
Sysscl.  Such  fishing,  shootirvg,  looking  through  fcelcscopes, 
and  talking  of  what  was  to  be  dbne  on  our  arrival !     Like 


the  man  he  was  before,  at 
Doctor  grew  nearly  lunatjc 


AntJEijs,  Sigurdr  seemed  ,twice 

sight  of  his  native  land  ;  and  the 

when  after  stalking  a  solent  goo^e  ask'ep  on  the  Water,  the 

bird  flew  away  at  the  moment  theischooner  hove  within  shot. 

The  panorama  of  the  bay  of  I-'axa  Fiord  is  magnificent, 
— with  a  width  of  fifty  miles  fr0m  horn  to  horn,  the  one 
running  down  into  a  rocky  ridge  of  pumice,  the  other 
towering  to  the  height  of  five  thousand  feet  in  a  pyramid 
of  eternal  snow,  while  round  the  intervening  semicircle 
crowd  the  peaks  of  a  hundred  noble  mountains.  As  you 
approach  the  ishore,  you  are  very  much  reminded  of  the 
west  coast  of  Sc%land,  except  that  everything  is  more 
intense — the  atmosphere  clearer,  the  light  more  vivid,  the 
air  more  bracing,  the  hills  steepeir,  loftier,  mdre  tormented, 
as  the  French  say,  and  more  gaunt;  while  between  their 
base  and  the  sea  stretches  a  dirty  greenish  slope,  patched 
with  houses  which  themselves,  both  roof  and  wails,  are  of 
mouldy  green,  as  if  some  long-since  inhabited  country  had 
been  fished  up  out  of  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

The  effects  of  light  and  shadow  are  the  purest  I  ever 
saw,  the  contrasts  of  color  most  astonishing, — one  square 
front  of  a  mountain  jutting  out  in  a  blaze  of  gold  against 
the  flank  of  another,  dyed  of  the  darkest  purple,  while  up 
against  the  azure  sky  beyond,  rise  peaks  of  glittering  snow 
and  ice.  The  snow,  however,  beyond  serving  as  an  orna- 
mental fringe  to  the  distance,  plays  but  a  very  poor, part  at 
this  season  of  the  year  in  Iceland.  While  I  write,  the 
thermometer  is  above  70*.  Last  night  we  remained  playing 
at  chess  on  deck  till  bedtime,  without  thinking  of  calling 
for  coatJ,  and  my  people  live  in  their  shirt-sleeves,  and — 
astonishment  at  the  climate. 


■). 


22 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


[V. 


^ 


-And  now,  good-bye.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  1  am  enjoy- 
ing  myself,  body  and  soul.  "Already  I  feel  much  stronger, 
and  before  I  return  I  trust  to  have  laid  in  a  stock  of  health 
sufficient  to  last  the  family  for  several  generations. 

Remember  me   to ,   and   tell   her  she   looks   too 

lovely  ;  her  face  has  become  of  a  beautiful  bright  green — 
a  complexion  which. her  golden  crown  sets  off  to  the  great- 
est advantage.  I  wish  sIijb  could  have  seen,  as  we  sped 
across,  how  pasisionately  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  flung 
their  liquid  arips  about  her  neck,  and  how  proudly  she 
broke  through  their  embraces,  leaviitg  thejn  far  behind, 
moaning  and  lamenting. 


/ 


-«» 


V 


■I 


i . 


\ 


LETTER  VI. 


'^ 


REYKJAVIK — LATIN  CONVERSATION — I  BECOME  THE  PROPRI- 
ETOR OF  TWENTY-SIX  HOftSES — EIDER  DUCKS — BESSESTAD 
— SNORRO  STURLESON — THE  OLD  tjREEN LAND  COLONY — 
FINLAND — A  GENOESE  SKIPPER  IN  THE  HFTEEI^TH  CEN- 
TURY— A.N  ICELANDIC  DINNER — SKOAL — AN  AFTER-DIN- 
NER SPEECH  IN  LATIN — WINGED  RABBITS — DUCROW — 
START  OF  THE  BAGGAGE-TRAIN. 

Reykjavik,  June  28,  1856. 
NoTWiTHSTANDijiG  that  its  site,  as  I  mentioned  in  my 
hdt  letter,  was  detef^nined  by  auspices  not  less  divine  than 
those  of  Rome  or  Athens,  Reykjavik  is  not  so  fine  a  city 
a^  either,  though  its  public  buildings  may  be  thought  to  be 
in  better  repair.  In  fact,  the  town  consists  of  a  collectjgfi' 
of  wooden  sheds,  one  story  high — rising  here  and  there 
into  a  gable  end  of  greater  pretensions — built  along  the 
lava  beach,  and  flanked  at  either  end  by  a  suburb  of  turf 
huts. 

On  every  side  of  it  extends  a  desolate  plain  of  lava  that 
once  must  have  boiled  up  red-hot  from  some  distant  gate- 
way of  hell,  and  fallen  hissing  into  the  sea.  No  tree  or 
bush  relieves  the  dreariness  of  the  landscape,  and  the 
mountains  are  too  distant  to  serve  as  a  background  to  the 
buildings  ;  but  before  the  door  of  each  merchant's  house 
facing  the  sea,  (here  flies  a  gay  little  pennon  ;  and  aS  you 
walk  along  the  silent  streets,  whose  dust  no  carriage-wheel 
has,  ever  desecrated,  the  rows  of  flower-pots  that  peep  out 


(1. 


A 


-«» 


r 


taa       -Is'^ 


y 


r 


IH' 


I    ^ 


24 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


[VI. 


of  the  windows,  between  curtains  of  white  muslin,  at  once 
convince  you  that  notwithstanding  their  unpretending  ap- 
pearance, within  each  dwelling  reign  the  elegance  and 
comfort  of  a  woman-tended  home. 

Thanks  to  Sigurdr's  popularity  among  his  countrymen, 
by  the  second  day  after  our  arrival  we  found  ourselves  no 
longer  in  a  strange  land.  With  a  frank  energetic  cordiality 
that  quite  took  one  by  surprise,  the  gentlemen  of  the  place 
at  once  welcomed  us  to  their  firesides,  and  made  us  feel 
that  we  coyld-  give  them  no  greater  pleasure  than  by  ' 
claiming  th^ir  hospitality.  As,  however,  it  is  necessary, 
if  we  are  to  reach  Jan  Mayen  and  Spitzbergen  this  sum- 
mer, that  our  stay  in  Iceland  should  not  be  prolonged 
above  a  certain  date,  I  determined  at  once  to  make  prepar- 
^-.ations  for  our  expedition  to  the  Geysirs  and  the  interior  of 
.the  country.  Our  plan  at  present,  after  visiting  the  hot 
springs,  is  to  return  to  Reykjavik,  and  stretch  right  across 
the  middle  of  the  island  to  the  north  coast— scarcely  evei 
visited  by  strangers.  Thence  we  shall  sail  straight  away 
to  Jan  Mayen. 

^  In  pursuance  of  this  arrangement,  the  first  thing  to  do 
was  to  buy  some  horses.  Away,  accordingly,  we  went  in 
thfe  gig  t6  the  little  pier  leading  up  to  the  merchant's  house 
who  had  kindly  promised  Sigurdr  to  provide  them.  Every- 
thing in  the  counfty  that  is  not  made  of  wood  is  made  of 
■  .va.  The  pier  was  constructed  out  of  huge  boulders  of 
Mj 'the"  shingle  is  lava,  the  sea-sand  is  pounded  lava,  the 
mud  on  the  roads  is  lava  paste,  the  foundations  of  the 
houses  are  lava  blocks,  and  in  dry  weather  you  are  blinded 
with  lava  dust.  Immediately  upon  landing  I  was  presen- 
ted to  a  fine,  burly  gentleman,  who,  I  was  informed,  could 
let  me  have  a  steppe-ful  of  horses  if  I  desired,  and  a  tew 
minutes  afterwards -I  picked  myself  up  in  the  middle  of  a 
Latin  oration  on  the  subject  of  the  weather.  Having  sud- 
denly  lost  my  nominative  case.  T  rnnrliided  abruptly  with 


\ 


a.^iit'oiikik 


vi-l 


BECOME  PROPRIETOR  OF  26  NORSES. 


25 


the  figure  syncope,  and  a  bow,  to  which  my  interlocutor 
politely  replied  "  Ita."  Many  of  the  inhabitants  speak 
English,  and  one  or  two  French,  but  in  default  of  either  of 
these,  your  only  chance  is  Latin.  At  first  I  found  great 
difficulty  in  brushing  up  anything  sufficiently  conversa- 
tional, more  especially  as  it  was  necessary  to  broaden  out 
the  vowels  in  the  high  Roman  fashion  ;  but  a  little  practice 
soon  made  me  more  fluent,,  anrfr  I  got  atlast  to  brandish  my 
''  Pfergratum  est,"  etc.,  in  the  face  of  a  new  acquaintance, 
without  any  misgivings.  On  this  occasidn  I  thought  it 
more  prudeni  to  let  Sigurdr  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  our  journey,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  learning  that  I  had  become  the  proprietor  of 
twenty-six  horses,  as  many  bridles  and  pack-saddles,  and 
three  guides. 

There  being  no  roads  in  Iceland,  all  the  traffic  of  the 
country  is  conducted  by  means  of  horses,  along  the  bridle- 
tracks  which  centuries  of  travel  have  worn  in  the  lava  plains. 
As  but  little  hay  is  to  be  had,  the  winter  is  a  se9,son  of  fast- 
ing for  all  cattle,  and  it  is  not  until  spring  is  well  advanced, 
and  the  horses  have  had  time  to  grow  a  little  fat  on  the 
young  grass,  that  you  caa  go  a  journey.  I  was  a  good  deal 
taken  aback  when  the  number  of  my  slud  was^nnounced 
to  me  ;  but  it  appears  that  what  with  the  photographic  ap- 
paratus, which  I  am  anxious  to  take,  and  our  tent,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  do  with  fewer  animals.  The  price  of  each 
pony  is  very  moderate,  and  I  am  told  I  shall  have  no  dif- 
ficulty in  disposing  of  all  of  them,  at  the  conclusion  of  our 
expedition. 

These  preliminaries  happily  concluded,  Mr.  J in- 
vited us  into  his  house,  where  his  wife  and  daughter — a 
sunshiny  young  lady  of  eighteen — wete  waiting  to  receive 
us.  As  Latin  here  was  quite  useless,  we  had  to  entrust 
Sigurdr  with  all  the  pretty  things  we  desired  to  convey  to 
our  entertainers  j^  but  it  is- my  firm  opinion  that  that^gcn^ 


^ 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TI TUBES. 


[VI. 


tleman  took  a  dirty  advantage  of  us,  and /intercepting  the 
choicest  flowers  of  our  eloquence,  app^riated  them  to  the 
advancement  of  his  own  intei:ests.  However,  such  expres- 
sions of  respectful  admiration  as  he  suffered  to  reach  their 
destination  were  received  very  graciously,  and  rewarded 
with  a  shower  of  smiles. 

The  next  few  days  were  spent  iri  making  short  expedi- 
tions in  the  ^ghborhood,  in  preparing  our  baggage-train, 
and  in  paying  visits.  It  would  be  too  long  for  me  to  enu- 
merate all  the  marks  of  kindness/ and  hospitality  I  received 
during  this  short  period.  Suffite  it  to  say,  that  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  making  many  very 'interesting  acquaintances, 
of  beholding  a  great  number  of  very  pretty  faces,  and  of 
partaking  of  an  innumerable  quantity  of  luncheons.  In 
fact,  to  break  bread,  or,  more  correctly  speaking,  to  crack 
a  bottle  with  the  master  of  the  house,  is  as  essential  an  ele- 
ment of  a  morning  call  ps,  the  making  a  bow  or  shaking 
hands,  and  to  refuse  to  take  off  your  glass  would  Be  as 
great  an  incivility  as  to  decline  taking  off  your  hat.  From 
earliest  times,  as  the  grand  old  ballad  of  the  King  of  Thule 
•  tells  us,  a  beaker  was  considered  the  fittest  token  a  lady 
could  present  to  her  true-love — 

)Drm  fttrbrnti  ^tmt  llut)lr 
<Sincn  aolbnm  lllrd)rr  gab. 

And  in  one  of  the  most  ancient  Eddaic  songs  it  is  writ- 
Xsxir  "  Drink,  Runes,  must  thou  know,  if  thou  wilt  main- 
tain thy  power  over  the  maiden  thou  lovest.  Thou  shalt 
score  them  on  the  drinking-horn,  on  the  back  of  thy  hand, 
and  the  word  naud  "  («<r<?rt^— necessity)  "  on  thy  nail." 
Moreover,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  ladies  of  the 
house  themselves  minister  on  these  occasions,  it  will  be 
easily  understood  that  all  flinching  is  out  of  the  question. 
What  is  a  man  to  do,  when  a  wicked  little  golden-haired 
maiden  insists  on  pouring  him  out  a  bumper,  and  dumb 


f  *'< 


VI.J 


AN  ICELANDIC  LADY'S  DRESS. 


27 


At  this  mome 
ment  at  the  expi 
and  two  days  a| 
with  coal  for  his  use. 


show  is  the  only  means  of  remonstrance  ?  Why,  of  course, 
if  death  were  in  the  cup,  he  Houst  make  her  a  leg,  and  drain 
it  to  the  bottom,  a,s  I  did.  In  conclusion,  I  am  bound  to 
add  that,  notfvithstanding  the  bacchanalian  character  pre- 
vailing in  these  visits,  I  derived  from  them  much  interest- 
ing and  useful  information  ;  and  I  have  invariably  found 
the  gentlemen  to  whom  I  have  been  presented  persons  of 
education  and  refinement,  combined  with  a  happy,  healthy, 
jovial  temperament,  that  invests  their  conversation  with  a 
peculiar  charm. 

:^le  are  in  a  great  state  of  excite- 
rival  of  H.  I.  H.  Prince  Napoleon, 
ge  full-rigged  ship  came  in  laderi 
The  day  after  we  left  Stornaway,  we 
had  seen  her  scudding  away  before  the  gale  on  a  due  west 
course,  and  guessed  she  was  bound  for  Iceland,  and  run- 
ning down  the  longitude  ;  but  as  we  arrived  here  four  days 
before  her,  our  course  seems  to  have  been  a  better  one. 
The  only  other  ship  here  is  the  French  frigate  "  Artemise" 
Commodore  Dumas,  by  whom  I  have  been  treated  with  the 
greatest  kindness  and  civility. 

On  Saturday  we  went  to  Vedey,  a  beautiful  little  green 
island  where  the  eider  ducks  breed,  and  build  nests  with 
the  soft  under-down  plucked  from  their  own  bosoms.  Af- 
ter the  little  ones  are  hatched,  and  their  birthplaces  desert- 
ed^ the  nests  are  gathered,  cleaned,  and  stuffed  into  pillow- 
cases, for  pretty  ladies  in  Europe  to  lay  their  soft,  warm 
cheeks  upon,  and  sleep  the  sleep  of  the  innocent }  while 
long-legged,  broad-shouldered  Englishmen  protrude  from 
between  them  at  German  inns,  like  the  ham  from  a  sand- 
wich, and  cannot  sleep,  however  innoeent. 

The  next  day,  being  Sunday,  I  read  prayers  on  board, 
and  then  went  for  a  short  time  to  the  cathedral  church, — 
the  only  stone  building  in  Reykjavik.  It  is  a  moderate- 
t>ized,  unpretending  place,  capable  of  holding^three  or  four 


1  •' 
9 


i.#- 


/' 


w. 


i 


1^1 


I JT 


*   ,- 


28 


LE 


¥ 


RS.  FROM,  HIGH  LA  TJ  TUBES. 


[VI. 


hundred  persons,  erected  in  very  ancient  tijties,  but  lately 
restored.  The  Icelanders  are  of  the  Lutheran  religion  ; 
and  a  Lutheran  clerg)mian,  in  a  black  gown;  etc.,  with  a 
ruflf  round  his  neck,  such  as  our  bishops  dre  painted  in 
about  the  time  of  James  the  First,  was  preaching  a  ser-" 
mon.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  heard  Icelandic  sppken 
continuously,  and  it  struck  me  as  a  singularly  sweet  car- 
essing language,  although  I  disliked  the  particular  cadence, 
j^mounting  almost  to  a  chant,  with  which  each  sentence 
ended. 

As  in  every  church  where  pray<:rs  have  been  offered  up 
since  the  world  began,,  the  majority  of  the  congregation 
were  women,  some  few  dressed  in  bonnets,  and  the  rest  in 
the  national  bl,ack  silk  skull-cap,  set  jauntily  on  one  side 
of  the  head,  with  a  long  black  tassel  hanging  dowr^  to  the 
shoulder,  ,or  else  in  a  qfuaint  mitre  of  white  lineti,  of  which 
a  drawing  alqne  could  kive  you  an  idea  ;  the  reihainder  of 
an  Icelandic  lady's  costume,  whe*>  not  superseded  by  "Paris 
fashions,  consists  of  a  black  bodice  fastened  in  front  with 
silver  clasps,  over  whtch  is  drawn  a  cloth  jacket,  ornamen- 
ted with  a  multitude'  of  silver  buttons  ;  round  t<je  neck 
goes,  a  stiff  ruff  of  velvet,  figured  with  silver  lace,  and  a  sil- 
ver belt,  often  beautifully  chased,  binds  the  long 'dark 
wadmal  petticoat  round  the  waist.  Sometimes  the  orna-^, 
ments  are  of  gold  instead  of  silver,  and  very  costly. 

Before  dfsmissing  his  people,  the  preacher  descended 
from  the  pulpit,  and  putting  on  a  splendid  cope  of  crimson 
velvet  (in  which  some  bishop  had  in  ages  past  been  mur- 
dered), turned  his  back  to  the  congregation,  and  chanted 
some  Latin  sentences  in  good  round  Roman  style.  Though 
still  retaining  in  their  ceremonjes  a  few  vestiges  of  the  old 
religion,  though  altars,  candles,  pictures,  and  crucifixes, 
yet  remain  in  many,  of  their  churches,  the  Icelanders  are 
staunch  Protestants,  and,  by  all  accounts,  the  most  devout, 
innocent,  pure-hearted  people  in  the  wcffld.     Crime,  theft, 


:-^5-^s^^ 


i'^ 


'«MtKatfi 


VI.7 


r^ 


RM-^TEADING. 


.    »• 


debauchery,  cruelty,  are  unknown  amongst  theni ;  they 
have  neither  prison,  gallows,  soldiers,  nor  police  ;  and  in 
the  manner  of  the  lives  they  lead  among  their  secluded  val- 
leys, there  is  something  of 'a  patriarchal  simplicity,  that  re- 
mihd^  one  of  the  Old  World  princes,  of  whom  it  has  been 
said,  that  they  were  "upright  and  perfectj  eschewing  evil,  ■ 
and  in  their  hearts  no  guile." 

The  law  With  regard  to  marriage,  however,  is  sufficient- 
ly peculiar.  When,  from  some  unhappy  incompatibility  of 
tetnper,  a  mdrried  couple  live  so  miserablv  together  as  to 
render  life  insupportable,  it  is  competent'for  them  to  ap- 
ply to  the  Danish  Qovernor  of  the  island  for  a  divorce. 
If  after  the  lapse  of  three  -years  from  the  date  of  the  appli- 
cation, both  are  still  of  the  same  mind,  and  equally  eager 
to  be  free,  the  divorce  is  granted,  and  each  is  at  liberty  to> 
marry  again. 

The  next  day  it  had  been  arranged  that  we  were  to  take 
an  experimental  trip  on  our  new  ponies,  uftder  the  guid- 
ance of  the  learned  and  jovial  Rector  of  the  College.  Un- '. 
fortunately  the  we^ither  was  dull  and  rainy,  but  we  were  de.-  • 
termined  to  enjoy  ourselyes  in  spite  of  everything,  and  a 
pleasanter  ride  I  have  seldom  had.  The  steed  Sigurdr 
had  purchased  for  me  was  a  long-tailed,  hog-maned,  shag- 
gy, cow-houghed  creature,  thirteen  hands  high,  of  a  bright 
yellow  color,  with  admirable  action,  and  sure-footed  enough 
to  walk  downstairs  -backwards.  The  Doctor  .was  not  less 
well  mounted  ;  in  fact,  the  Icelandic  pdny  is  quite  a  pecu- 
liar race,  much  stronger,  faster,  and  *  better  bred  than  the 
Highland  shelty,  alid  descended  probaibly  from  pure-blood- 
ed sires  4hat  scoured  the  steppes  of  Asia,  long  before 
Odin  and  his  paladins  had  peopled  the  Valleys  of  Scandi< 
navia.  :  *^ 

The  first  few  miles  of  our  ride  lay  across  an  undulating 
plain  of  dolorite,  to  a  farm  situated  at  the  head  of  an  inlet, 
of  the  sea.     At  a  distance,  the  farm-steading  looked  like  A 


4 


J 


'4. 


I 


^■•^ 


\     'i 


'ill 


V 


n 


•^  ■ 


■^  >a 


.* . 


!' 


-4 


s<* 


30  LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES.  [VI 

little  oasis  of  ^reen,  imid  tfeS  grey,  stony  slopes  that  sur- 
rounded it,  and  on  a  hearer  approach'  not  unlike  the  ves- 
tiges of  a  Celtic  earthwork,  with  the  tumulus  of  a  hero  or 
twqain  the  centrq^j  but  the  mounds  turned  out  to  be  noth- 
ing mor4  than  the  grass  roofs  of  the  house  and  offices,  and 
the  banks  and  dykes  but  cireumvallations  round  ths  plot 
of  most  carefully  cleaned  meado\y,  called  the  "  tiirt,"  ' vhich 
always  surrounds  every  Icelandic  farm.  This  word  "  ibn  " 
is  evidently  identical  with  our  own  Irish  "  tvwnland"  the 
Cornish^ "/<77£/«,"  and  the  Scotch  "toon" — terms  which,  in 
their  local  signification,  do  not  niean  a  congregation  of 
streets  and  buildings,  but  the  yard,  and '  spaces  of  grass 
immediately  adjoining  a  single  house  ;  just  as  in  German 
we  have  "  tzaun,"  and  in  the  Dutch  "  tityn"  a  garden. 

Turning  to  the  right,  round  the  head  of  a  little  bay,  we 
passed  within  forty  yards  of  an  enormous  eagle,  seated  on 
a  crag;  but  we* had  no  rifle,  and  all  he  did  Was  to  rise 
heavily  into  the  air,  flap  his  wings  like  a  barn-door  fowl, 
atid  plump  lazily  down  twenty  yards  farther  off.  Soon 
after,  the  district  we  traversed  became  .  more  igneous, 
wrinkled,  cracked,  and  ropy  than  anything  we  had  yet 
seen,  and  another  two  hours'  scamper  over  such  a  track  as 
till  then  I  would  not  have  believed  horses  could  have 
traversed,  even  at  a  foot's  pace,  brought  us„to  the  solitary 
farm-house  of  Bessestad.  Fresh  from  the  neat  homesteads 
of  England  that  we  had  left  sparkling  in  the  bright  spring 
weather,  and  sheltered  by  immemorial  elms, — Ihe  scene 
before  us  looked  expressibly  desolate.  In  front  rose  a 
clust|fr  of"  weather-beaten  wooden  buildings,  and  huts  like 
ice-houses,  surrounded  by  a  scanty  plot  of  grass,  reclaimed 
from  Ihe  craggy  plain  of  broken  lava  that  stretched — the 
home  of  ravens  and  foxes — on  either  side  to  the  yhorizon. 
Beyond,  lay  a  low,  black  breadth  of  moorland,  intersected  by 
patches  of  what  was  neither  land  nor  water,  and  last,  the 
sullen  sea  ;  while  above  our  heads  a  wind,  saturated  with 


-1.  iS^n 


VI.] 


DOMESTIC  ECONOMY. 


3» 


the  damps  of  the  Atlantic,  went  moaning  over  ,the  land- 
scape. Yet  tbi^  was  Bessestad,  the  ancient  home  of  Snorro 
Sturleson\        '*«*i*   ',j,v 

'On  dismounting  from  our  horses  and  entering  the 
house  things  began  to  look  more  cheefy ;  a  dear  old  lady, 
to  whom  we  were  successively  presented  by  the  Rector,  re- 
ceived us,  with  the  air  of  a  princess,  ushered  us  into  her ' 
best  room,  made  us  sit  dq,wn  on  the.  sofa — the  place  of 
\honor — and  assisted  by  her  niece,  a  pale,lily-like  maiden, 
named  after  Jarl  Hakon's  Thora,  proceeded  to  serve  us 
t^ithshpt  coffee,  rusks,  and  sweetmeats.  At  first  it  used  to 
give  me  a  very  disagreeable  feeling  to, be  waited  upon  by 
the  woman-kind  of  the  household,  and  I  was  always  start 
ing  up,  and  attempting  to  take  the  dishes  out  of  their 
hands,  to  their  infinite  surprise  ;  but. now  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  learning  to  accepttheir  ministrations  with  the 
same  unembarrassed  dignity  as  my  neighbors.  In  the  end, 
indeed,  I  have  rather  got  to ;  like  it,  especLilly  when  they 
are  as  pretty  as  Miss  Thora»  To  add,  moreover,  to  pur 
content,  it  appeared  that  that  young  lady  spoke  a  litUe 
French ;  so  that  we  had  no  longer  any  need  to  pay  our 
court  by  proxy,  which  many  persons  besides  ourselves 
have  found  to  be  unsatisfactory.  Our  hostess  lives  quitfr- 
alone.  Her  son,  whom  I  have  the  pleasure^  of  knowing,  is 
far  away,  pursuing  a  career  of  honor  and  usefulness  at 
Copenhagen,  and  it  seems  quite  enough, for  his  mother  to 
kno\)^  that  he  is  holding  his  head  high  among  the  princes 
of  literature,  and  the  statesmen  of  Europe,  provided  only 
news  of  his  success  and  advancing  reputation  shall  oc- 
casionally reach  her  across  the  ocean. 

Of  the  rooms  and  the  interior  arrangement  of  the 
house,  1  do  not  know  that  I  have  anything  particular  to 
tell  you ;  they  seemed  to  me  like  those  of  a  good  "old- 
fashioned  farm-house,  the  Walls  wainscoted  ^yith  deal,  and 
the  doors   and  staircase  of  the   same  material.     A  few 


V 


wirtriiiiitiM'iifciiwifV  I  irrtiiiiini 


'ii»«»M8li»i 


■ilhwimwIittiVWKili 


i 


3* 


Letters  from  high  latitudes. 


[VI. 


J 


prints,  a  photograph,  some  book-shelves,  one  or  twoJittle 
pictures',  decorated  the  parlor,  and' a  neat  iron  stove,  and 
massive  chests  of  drawers,  served  to  furnish  it  very  com- 
pletely. But  you  must  not,  I  fear,  take  the  drawing-room 
of  Bessestad  as  an  average  specimen  of  the  comfort  of  an 
Icelandic  intencur.  The  greater  proportion  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  island  live  much  more  rudely.  The  walls  of 
only  the  more  substantial  farmsteads  are  wainscoted  with 
deal,  or  even  partially  screened  with  drift-v^ood.  In  most 
houses  the  bare  blocks  of  lava,  pointed  with  moss,  are  left 
in  all  their  natural  ruggedness.  Instead  of  wood,  the  raf- 
ters are  made  of  the  ribs  of  whales.  The  same  room  but 
too  often  serves  as  the  dining,  siuing,  and  sleeping  place 
for  the  whole  family  ;  a  hole  in  the  roof  is  the  only  chim- 
ney, and  a  horse's  skull  the  most  luxurious  fauLuil  into 
which  it  is  possible  for  them  to  induct  a  stranger.  The 
parquet  is  that  originally  lai'tl  down  by  Nature, — the  beds 
are  merely  boxes  filled  with  fearfchers  or  sea-weed, — and  by 
all  accounts  the  nightly  packingNs  i;yetty  close,  and  very 
.   indiscriminate. 

After  drinking  several  cups  of  coffee,  and  consuming 
at  least  a  barrel  of  rusks,  we  rose  to  go,  in  spite  pf  Miss 
Thora's  intimation  that  a  fresh  jorum  of  coffee  was  being 
brewed.  The  horses  were  re-saddled  ;  and  with  an  elo- 
quent exchange  of  bows,  curtseys,  and  kindly  smiles,  we 
took  leave  of  our  courteous  entertainers,  and  sallied  forth 
into  the  wind  and  rain.  It  was  a  regular  race  home,  single 
file,  the  kector  leading ;  but  as  we  sped  along  in  silence, 
amid  the  unchangeable  features  of  this  strange  land,  I 
could  not  help  thin.ang  of  him  whose  shrewd  observing 
■»  eye  must  have  re  .ed,  six  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  on 
'■'^  the  selfsame  crags,  and  tarns,  and  distant  mountain-tops  ; 
perhaps. on  th«  very  day  he  rode  out  in  the  pride  of  his 
Svealth,  talent,  and  political  influence,  to  meet  his  murder- 
ers at  Reikholt.     And  mingling  with  his  memory  would 


- 


\M 


J,. 


v> 


1 


I 


VI.] 


ANCIENT  LITER  A  TURS. 


3.J 

rise  the  pale  face  of  Thora,— not  the  little  lady  of  the 
coffee  and  biscuits  we  had  just  left,  but  that  other  Thora, 
so  tender  and  true,  who  turned  back  King  Olaf's  hell- 
hounds from  the  hiding-place  of  the  great  Jarl  of  Lad(5. 

In  order  that  you  may  understand  why  the  forlorn  bar- 
rack we  had  just  left,  and  its  solitary  inmates,  should  have- 
set  me  thinking  of  the  men  and  women  "of  a  thousand 
summers  back,"  it  is  necefesar)'  I  should  tell  you  a  little 
about  this  same  Snorro  Sturleson,  whose  memory  so 
haunted  me. 

Colonized  as  Ice'and  had  bteen, — not,  as  is  generally 
the  case,  when  a  new  land  is  brought  into  occlipation,  by 
the  poverty-stricken  dregS'-^a  redundant  population,  nor 
by  a  gang  of  outpaSts  and  ruffians,  expelled  from  the 
bosom  of  a  so^krfy  which  they  contaminated, — but  by  men 
who  in  theij/own  land  had  been  l^th  rich  and  noble, — 
with  possessions  to  be  taxed,  and  a  spirit  too  haughty  to 
endure  taxation, — already  acquainted  with  whatever  of  re- 
finement and  learning  the  age  they  lived  in  was  capable  o^ 
supplying,— it  is  not  surprising  that  we  should  find  its  in- 
habitants, even  from  the  first  infancy  of  the  republic,  en- 
dowed with  an  amount  of  intellectual  energy  hardly  to  be 
expected  in  so  secluded  a  community. 

Perhaps  it  was  this  very  seclusicn^which  stimulated 
into  almost  mirac^ulous  exuberance  the  mental  powers 
already  innate  in  tho»,people.  Undistracted  during  several 
successive  centuries  by  the  bloody  wars,  and  still  more 
bloody  political  convulsions,  which  for  too  long  a  period 
rendered  the  sword  of  the  warrior  so  much  more  impor-  . 
lant  to  European  society  than  the  pen  of  the  scholar,  the 
Icelandic  settlers,  devoting  the  lohg  leisure  of  their  winter 
nights  to  intellectual  occupations,  became  the  first  of  any 
European  nation  to  create  for  themselves  a  native  litera- 
ture. Indeed,  so  much  more  accustomed  did  they  get  to 
use   their  head^  than  ^their  hands,  that  if  nn  Icelander 

3 


T 


»i|MI*((<*I«ij«!-, 


■/•  I 


34 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TITUDES. 


were  injured  he  often  avenged  himself,  not  by  ciifting;the 
throat  of  his  antagonist,  but  by  ridiculing  him  in  s^me 
pasquinade, — sometimes,  indeed,  he  did  botii  j  and  Wlien 
the  King  of  Denmark  maltreats  the  crew  of  an  Icehhdic 
vessel  shipwrecked  on  his  coast,  their  indignant  country- 
men send  the  barbarous  monarch  word,  that  by  way  of 
reprisal,  they  intend  making  as  many  lampoons  on  hiiii  as    . 
there  are  promontories  in  hisi  dominions.     Almost  all  the 
ancient  Scandinavian  manuscripts  are  Icelandic^  tli^  n^-* 
gotiations  between  the  Courts  of  the  North  wer^^conditoted 
by  Icelandic  diplomatists  ;  the  earliest  topo^aphical  sur-  - 
,vey  with  which  we  are  acquainted  was  Icelandic;    the 
cosmogony  of  the  Odin  religion  was  fojrfnulated,  and  its 
doctrinal  traditions  and  ritual  reduced  f^  a  system,  bv  Ice- 
landic archaeologist?  ;  and  the  first  historical  composition 
^ever  written  by  any  European  in  the  vernacular,  was  ihc 
product  of  Icelandic  genius.     The  title  of  ihis  important 
work  is  "  The  Heimskrittgla"  or  world  circle,^  and  its  auHior 
was— Snorro  SturlesonH     It  consists  of  an  accounL/6f  the 
reigns  of  the  Norwegian  kings  from  mythic  times  down 
to  about  A.  D.  1 1 50,  that  is  to  say,  a  few  years  before  the 
death  of  our  own  Henry  II  :  but  detailed  by  the  old  Saga- 
man  with  so  much  art  and  cleverness  as  almost  to  combine 
the  dramatic  power  of  Macaulay  With  Clarendon's  delicate 
delineation  of  character,  and  the  charming  loquacity  of 
Mr.  Pepys.     His  stirring  sea-fights,  his  tender  love-stories, 
and  delightful  bits  of  domestic  gossip,  are  really  inimita-'v 
hie ;— you  actually  live  with  the  people  he  brings  upon  the 
stage,  as  intimately  as  you  do.  with  FalstafiF,  Percy,  or 
Prince  Hal ;  and  there  is  something  in  the  bearing  of 
those^d  heroic  figures  who  form  his  dramatis  persona,  so 
grand  and  noble,  that  it  is  impossible  to  read  thg"story  of 

I  So  called  because  Heimskringla  (world-circle)  is  the  first  word 
iu  the  opening  sentence  of  the  manuscript  which  catches  the  eye. 


■/ 


VI.] 


4 


A 


ANCIENT  LITER  A  TURE. 


35 


their  earnest  stirring  liv6s  without  a  feeling  of  almost  pas- 
sionate interest — an  effect  which  no  tale  frozen  up  in  the 
monkish  Latin  of  the  Saxon  annalists  has  ever  produced 
upon  me.  / 

As  for  Snorro's  own  lite,  it  was  eventful  and  tragic 
enough.  Unscrupulous,  turbulent,  greedy  of  money,  he 
married  two  heiresses — the  one,  however,  becoming  the 
colleague,  not  the  successor  of  the  other.  This  arijangement 
naturally  led  to  enjibarrassment  His  wealth  created  envy, 
his  excessive  hauafhtiness  disgusted  his  sturdy  fellow-coun- 
trymen. He  was  suspected  of  desiring  to  make  the  repub- 
liclan  appanage /of  the  Norwegian  crown,  in  the  hope  of 
hiipself  becoming  viceroy ;  and  at  last,  on  a  cj'ark  Septem- 
ber night,  of  th^  year  124^ he  was  murdered  /in  his  house 
at  Reikholt  by  liiS  three  sorlte-in-law.  / 

Th?  same  ctentury  which  p>«pduced  the  HeJodotean  work 
of  Sturleson  a/so  gave  birth  to  a  whole  body/of  miscellane- 
ous Icelandic/literature,— though  in  Britain  ^nd  elsewhere 
bookmaking/Was  entirely  confined  to  the  mofnks,  and  mere- 
ly consisted/in  the  compilation  of  a  series  qf  bald  annals 
locked  tip  Hi  bad  Latin.  It  is  true,  Thomas  of  Ercildouno 
was  a  coijtemporary  of  Snorro's  ;  but  he  ii ;  known  to  us 
more  as/ a  magician  than  as  a  man  of  le  ters ;  whereas 
historie^,  memoirs,  romances,  biographies,  pc  stry,  statistics, 
novels.  Calendars,  specimens  of  almost  everj<  kind  of  com- 
position, are  to  be  found  even  among  the  tneagre  relics 
which  have  survived  the  literary  decadence  tl^at  superven- 
ed on  the  extinction  of  the  republic. 

It  is  to  these  same  spirited  chroniclers  tha\  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  preservation  of  two  of  the  most  Vemafkable 
facts,  in  the  history  of  the  world  :  the  coloiiization  of 
Greenland  by  Europeans  in  the  10th  century,  arid  the  dis- 
covery of  America  by  the  Icelanders  at  the  commencement, 
of  the  nth. 


t 

' 

A 

\ 

/. 

'  • 

■  1 . 

\ 

■".  ■•  d 

-V. 

j^-^ 

^>i^''^'simfm^-.mmmm^BmBli 

36 


LETTERS  FKOM  HIGH  LATITUDES 


fvi. 


The  story  is  rather  curious 


T- 


Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  settlers  in  Iceland  a 
manner  of  the  name  of  Eric  the  Red  discovers  a  cojntry 
away  to  the    west,  whicli,   in   consequence  of  its  fruitful 
appearance,  he  calls  Greenland.     In  the  course  of  a  few 
years  the  new  land  has  become  so  thickly  inhabited  that  it 
.s  necessary  to  erect  the  district  into  an  episcopal  see  ;  and 
at  Jasf,  m  1448,  we  hav^  brief  of  Pope  Nicolas  "granting 
to  his  beloved  children  of  Greenland,  iq  consideration  of 
their  having  erected  many  sacred  buildings^nd  a  splendid 
cathedral,"— a  new  bishop  and  a  fresh  supply  of  priests. 
At  the  commencement,  however,  of  the  next  century  'this 
colojiy  of  Greenland,  with  its  bishops,  prints  and  people 
Its  one  hundred  and  ninety  townships,   its  cathedral,  its 
churches,  its  monasteries,suddenly  fades  into  oblivion  like 
the  fabric  of  a  dream.  The  memory'of  its  existence  perish- 
es, and  the  allusions  made  to  it  in  the  old  Scandinavian 
bagas  gradually  come  to  be  considered  poetical  inventions 
or  pious  frauds.     At  last,  after  a  lapse  of  four  hundred 
years,  some  Danish  missionaries  set  out  to  convert  the 
Esquimaux  ;  and  there,  far  within  Davis'  Straits,  are  dis- 
covered vestiges  of  the   ancient  settlement,-remains  of 
houses,  paths,  walls,  churches,  tombstones,  and  inscrip- 
tions.^ ^ 

I  On  one  tombstone  there  was  written  in  Runic.  "  Vicdis  M  D 
Hv.hr  Her ;  Glwde  Gude  Sal  Hennar."  "  Vigdes«a  rests  here ;  God 
gladden  her  soul."  Hut  the  most  interesting  of  these  inscrip.ioas  is 
one  discovered,  n,  ,824,  in  an  island  in  Baffin's  Bav.  in  latitude  t-'O  cc' 
as  It  shows  how  boldly  these  Northmen  must  hav;  penetrated  into  re - 
grnns  supposed  to  have  been  unvisited  by  man  before  the  voyages  of 
our  modern  navigators :-"  Erling  Sighvatson  and  Biomo  Thordarson, 
and  E„Kir.d  Oddson,  on  Saturday  before  Ascension-week,  raised  these 

Siet  thT ?H       !k  ^"""''  '  '^5  "      ""'^'^  ^""'^  «^  Ascension-week  im- 
pl.es  that  these  three  men  wintered  here,  which  must  lead  us  to  im- 

inclement  than  .t  is  now. 


•  •     '  V 


VI\] 


Tl/E  OLD  GKEEATLA.VD  COLO.VY. 


37 


What  could  have  been  the  calamity  which  suddenly 
annihilated  this  Christian  people,  it  is  impossible  to  «ay  j 
whether  th,ey  were  massacred  by  some  warlike  tribe  of 
natives,  or  swept  off  to  the  last  man  by  tlie  terrible  pesti- 
lence of  1349,  called."  The  Black  Death,"  or, — most  hor- 
rible conjecture  of  all, — beleaguered  by  vast  masses  of  ice 
setting  down  from  the  Polar  Sea  along  the  eastern  coast 
of  Greenland,  and  thus  miserably  frogen, — >ve  are  never 


so  mysterious 


L 


regard  to  the 

;hers  away  in 

e  died  out  of  the 


likely  to  know — so  utterly  d'd  th 
has  been  their  doom. 

On  the*  other  hand,  certain  tr 
discovery  of  a  vast  continent  by 
the  south-west,  seems  never  qhtir^l 
memory  of  the  Icelanders  ;  and  in  the'  month  of  February, 
1477,  there  arrives  at  Reykj.a\»Lk,  in  a  barque   belonging 
to  the  port  of  Bristol,  a  certain  long  visaged,  grey-eyed 
Genoese  mariner,  who  was  observed  to  take  an  amazing 
interest  in  hunting  up  whatever  was  known  on  the  subject. 
Whether  Columbus — for  it  was  no  less  a  personage  than  he 
— really  learned  anything  to  confirm  him  in  his  noble  reso- 
lutions, is  uncertain  ;  but  we  have  still  extant  an  historical 
manuscript,  written  at  all  events  before  the  year  1395,  that 
is  to  say,  one  hunctred  years  prior  to  Columbus'  voyage, 
which  contains  a  minute/account  of  how  a  certatn  p^rson^ 
named  Lief,  while  sailing  overdo  Greenland,  was  driven  out 
of  his  course  by  contrary  winds,  until  he  found  himselrfH^ 
an  extensive  and  unknown  coast,  which  increased  in  bie^P 
ty  and  fertility  as  he  descended  south,  and  how,  in  cohse- 
quence  of  the  representation  Lief  made  on  his  return,  suc- 
cessive expeditions  were  undertaken  in  tke  same  direction. 
On  two  occasions  their  wives  sfe^m  to  have  accompanied 
the  adventurers  ;  of  one  ship's  company  the  skipper  was  n 
iTady :  while  two  parties  even  wintered  in  the  new  land,  built 
houses,  and  prepared  to  colonize.     For  some  reason  how 


.  S^  ■ 


3^^ 


38 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TITUDES. 


[VI. 


ever,  the  intentidn  was  abandoned  ;  and  in  process  of  time 
these  early  voyages  came  to  be  considered  as  apocryphal 
as  the  Phoenician  circumnavigation  of  Africa  in  the  time  of 
Pharaoh  NecKo. 

It  is  quite  uncertain  how  low  a  latitude  in  America  the 
Northmen  ever  reached  ;  but  from  the  description  given  of 
the  scenery,  products,  and  inhabitants,— from  the  mildness 
of  the  weather,— and  from  the  length  of  the  'day  on   the 
2istof  December,— it  is  conjectured  they  could  not  have 
descended  much  fartiier  than  Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotiaf 
or,  at  most,  the  coast  of  Massachusetts.^ 
But  to  return  to  more  material  matters. 
Yesterday— no— the  day  before— in  fact  I  forget  the 
date  of  the  day— I  don't  believe  it  had  one— all  I  know  is, 
I  have  hot  been  in  bed  since,— we  dined  at  the  Governor's  • 
—though  dinner  is  too  modest  a  term  to  apply  to  the  enter* 
tainment. 

The  invitation  was  for  four  o'clock,  and  at  half-past 
three  we  pulled  ashore  in  the  gig;  I,  innocent  that  I  was, 
in  a  well-fitting  white  waistcoat. 

The  Government  House,  like  all  the  others,  is  built  of 
wood,  on  the  top  of  a  hillock;  the  only  accession  of  dignity 
it  can  boast  being  a  little  bit  of  mangy  kitchen-garden  that 
hangs  dowix  in  front  to  the  road,  like  a  soileckipron.  There 
was  no  lock,  handle,  bell,  or  knocker  to  the  door,  but  im- 
mediately on  our  approach,  a  servant  presented  himself,  and 
^  ushered  us  in  to  the  room  where  Count  Trampe  was  wait- 
ing to  welcome  us.     After  having  been  presented  to  his 
wife,  we  proceeded  to  shake  hands  with  the  other  guests, 
most  of  whom  I  already  knew  ;  and  I  was  glad  to  find  that 
I  There  is  a  certain  piece  of  rock  on  the  Taunton  river,  in  Massa- 
chusetts,  called  the  Deighton  Stone,  on  which  are  to  be  seen  rude  con- 
figurations,  for  a  long  time  supposed  to  be  a  Runic  inscription  execnfcd 
by  thewrScandJnavian  voyagers ;  but  there  can  be  now  no  longer  an> 
doubt  of  Xhis  inscription,  such  a's  it  is,  being  of  Indian  execution.  4 

^ — ^ iB--— , . 


VI.] 


AN  ICELANDIC  DINNER. 


39 


at  all  events  in  Iceland,  people  do  not  consider  it  necessary 
to  pass  the  ten  minutes  which  precede  the  announcement  of 
dinner,  as  if  they  had  assembled  to  assist  at  the  opening  (A 
their  entertainer's  will,  instead  of  his  oysters.     The  com^ 
pany  consisted  of  the  chief  dignitaries  of  the  island,  includ- 
ing the  Bishop,  the  Chief  Justice,  etc.,  etc.,  some  of  them 
in  uniform,  and  all  with  holiday  faces.      As  soon  as  the 
door  was  opened.  Count  Trampe  tucked  me  upder  his  arm 
— two  other  gentlemen  did  the  same  to  my  two  companions 
— a  id  we  streamed  into  the  dining-room.     The  table  was 
very  prettily  arranged  with  flowers,  plate,  and  a  forest  of 
glasses.     Fitzgerald  and  I  were  placed  on  either  side  of 
our  host,  the  other  guests,  in   due  order,  beyond.  '^  On  my 
left  sat   the   rector,  and  opposite,  next  to   Fitz.  the  chief 
physician  of  the  island.     Then  began  a-series  U.  transac- 
tion* of  which  I  have  no  distinct  recollection  ;  In'^act,  the 
events  of  the  next  five  hours  recur  to  me  in  as  great  disarray 
as  reappear  the  vestiges  of  a  country  that  has  been  disfig- 
ured by  some  deluge.     If  I  give  you.  anything  like  a  con- 
nected account  of  what  passed,  you  must  thank   Sigurdr's 
more   solid   temperament;  for   the    Doctor   looked    quite 
foolish  when  I  asked  him— tried  to  feel  my  pulse— could 
not  find  it — and  then    wrote   the  following  prescription, 
which  I  believe  to  be  nothing   more  than  an  invoice  of 
the  number  of  bottles  he  himself  disposed  of.' 

I  gather,  then,  from  evidence— internal  and  ptherwise— 
that  the   diriner  was   excellent,  and  that  we  were  helped 


I  Copy  of  Dr.  F's  prescription  : 
B  vin  :  claret : 

viA :  charap : 
vin :  sherr ; 
vin:  Rheni: 
^  «  aqua  vitae 


iii  btl^i 
iv  btls. 
%  btl. 
ii  btls. 
viii  gls. 


X 


trigint :  poc  :  aegrot :  cap :  quotid  : 


Reik  :  die  Martis,  Junii  27. 

C  E.  F 

• 

I 

■ 

• 

■'-' 

« 

• 

t 

\ 

"si. 


49 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TITUDES. 


^ 


[VI. 

in  Benjamite  proportions  ;  but  as  before  the  soup-  was  fin- 
ished I  was  already  hard  at  work  hob-nobbing  with  my  two 
neighbors,  it  is  not  to  beApected  I  siiould  remember  tlie 
bill  of  fare.  ^ 

With  the  peculiar  manners  used  in  Scandinavian  skoal- 
drinking  I  wfis  already  well  acquainted.     In  the  ii ice  con- 
duct of  a  wineglass  I  knew  that  I  excelled,  and  having  an 
hereditary  horror  of  heel-taps,  I  prepared  with  aiirm  heart 
to  respond  to  the  friendly  provocations  of  my  host.  I  only 
wish  you  could  have  seen  how  his  kind  face  beamed   with 
approval  when  I  chinked  my  first  bumper  against  his,   and 
having  emptied  it  at  a  draught?,  turned  it  towards  him  bot- 
tom  upwards,  with   the  orthodox    twist.      Soon  however, 
things  began  to  look  more  serious.even  than  I  had  expected. 
I  knew  well  that  to  refuse  a  toast,  or  to  half  empty  your 
glass,  was  considered  churlish.     I  had  come  determined  to 
accept  my  host's  hospitality  as  cordially  as  it  was  offered.  I 
was  willing,  at  a  pinch,  io payer  de  mjti persontie ;  should  he 
not  be  content  with  seeing  me  at\\\s  table,,  I  was  ready,  if 
need  were,  to  remain  under  it!  but  at  the  ra,te  we  were  then 
going  it  seemed  probable  this  consummation  would  take 
place  before  the  second  course  :  so,  after  having  exchanged 
a  dozen    rounds   of   sherry  and    champagne  with   my  two 
neighbors,  I  pretended  not  to  observe  that  my  glass  had 
been  refilled  ;  and  like  the  sea-captain,  wTio,  slipping  from 
betweea  his  two  opponents,   left  them  to  blaze  away  at 
each  other  the   long   night  'through,— withdrew  from    the 
combat.     But  it  would  not  do  ;  with  untasted  bumpers,  and 
dejected  faces,  they  politely  waited  until  I  should  give  the 
signal  for  a  renewal  of  /4jv/ilities,  as  they  well  deserved  to 
be  called.     Then  there  came  over  me  a  horrid,  wicked 
feeling.     What  if  I  should  endeavor  to  floor  the  Governor 
atld  so  literally  turn  the  tables  oijjjittrl'    It  is  true  I  had 
lived  for  five-and-twenty  years  witfibut  touching  wine,— 
but  was  not  I  my  great-grandfather's  great-grandson,  and 


VI.] 


^JV  ICELANDIC  DINNER. 


4J 


an  Irish  peer  to  boot  ?  Were  there  not  traditions,  tpo,  on 
^the  other  side  of  the  house,  of  cstsks  of  claret  brought  up 
into  the  dining-room,  the  door/locked,  and  the  keypthrown 
out  of  the  window  ?  With  su^  antecedents  to  sustain  me 
I  ouglit  to  be  able  to  hold  my  o|jrn  against  the  staunchest 
toper  in  Iceland !  So  with  a  devil  glittering  in  my  left  eye 
I  winked  defiance  right  and  left,  and  away  we  went  at  it 
again  for  another  five-and-forty  minutes.  At  last  their  fire 
slackened  :  I  had  partially  quelled  both  the  Governor  and 
the  Rector,  and  still  survived.  It  is  true  I  did  not  feel 
comfortable  ;  but  it  was  in>he»'  neighborhood  of  my  v/aist- 
coat,.not  my  head,  I  suffered.  "  I  am  not  well  but  I  will 
not  out,"  I  soliloquized,  with  L^idus^— 'VW?  jun  rb  -Krspt-^;' 
I  would  have  added,  had  I  dared.  Still  the  neck  of 
the  banquet  was  broken — Fitzgeralil's  chair  j(Vas  not  yet 
empty, — codd  we  hold  out  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
longer,  our  reputation  was  established  ;  guess  then  my  hor- 
ror, when  the  Icelandic  Doctor,  shouting  his  favorite  dogma 
by  way  of  battle  cry,  "  Si  trigirftis  guttjs,  morbum  cur- 
are velis,  erras,"  gave  the  signal  for  an  unexpected  onslaught 
and  the  twenty  guests  poured  down  on  me"  in  succession.  I 
really  thought  I  should  run  away  from  nhe  house  ;  but 
the  true  family  blood,  I  suppose,  began  to  showj^tself,  and 
with  a  calmness  almost  frightful,  I  received  tbWn  one  by 
one. 

After  this  began  the  public  toasts.* 

Although  up  to  this  tim'e  I  had  kept  ascertain  portion 
of  my  wits  about  me,  the  subsequent  hours  of  the  enter- 
tainment became  henceforth  developed  in  a  dreamy  Hystery 
I  can  perfectly  recall  the  look  of  the  sheaf  of  glasses  that 
stood  before  me,  six  in  number  ;  I  could  draw  the  pattern 
of  each  ;  I  remember  feeling  a  lazy  wonder  they  should 
always  be  full,  though  I  did  nothing butempty  them,— and  , 

»  Antony  and  Cleopatra. 


% 


-    % 


42 


LETTJIRS  FROM  HIQH  LATITUDES. 


[VI. 


h 


*  ,* 


at  last  solved  the  phenomeiv)n  by  concluding  i  had  be- 
come a  kind  of  Danaid  whose  punishment,  not  vfhose  sen- 
~    tence,  had  been  reversed ;  tNen  suddenly  I  felt  ai  if  I  were, 
disembodied,— a  distant  specWor  of  my  own  performances 
and  of  the  feast  at  which  my  W^rson  remained  seated.   The 
voices  of  my  host,  of  the  R6ctar,  of  tl^e  Chfef  Justice,  be- 
came thin  and  low,  as  though JKey  reached  me  through  a 
whispering  tube  •  and  when   I  rose  to  speak,  it  was  to  an 
audience  in  another  sphere,  and  in  a  larfguage  of  andther 
state  of  being:  yet,  however  upintelligible  to  myself,  I  must 
have  been  in  some  sort  understood,  for  at  the  end  of  each 
sentence,  cheers,  faint  as. the  roar  of  waters  on  a  far-off 
strand,  floated  t^vards  me^and  if  I  am  to  believe  a  report 
of  the  proceedings  subsequently,  shown  us,  I  must  have  be- 
come polyglot  in  my  cu|)s.     According  to  that  report  it 
seems  the  governor  tjljfew  off   (I  wonder  he   did  not  do 
something  else),  with  the  Queen's  health  in    French :    to 
which  I  responded  in  the  same  language.     Then  the  rector 
in  English,  proposed  my  health,— under  the  circumstances 
a  cruel  rTi^9kery,— but  to  which  ill  as  I  was,  I  responded 
very  gallantly  by  drinking  to  the  beaux  yeitx  of  the  Count- 
ess.    Then.somebody  else  drank  success  to  Great  Britain 
and  I  see  it  was  followed  by  really  a  very  learned  discourse 
by  Lord  D.,  in  honor  of  the  ancient  Icelanders;  during 
H#ich  he  alluded  to  their  discovery  of  America,  and  Col- 
umbus' visit.     Then  came  a  couple  of  speeches  in  Iceland- 
ic, after  whic..  the  BisHoR,  in  a  magnificent  Latin  oration 
of  some  twenty  minutes,  a  second  time,  proposes  my  health 
to   which,  utterly  at  my  wits'  end,  I  bad  the  audacity  to 
reply  in  the  same  language.     As  it  is  fit  so  great  an  effort 
of  oratory  should  not  perish,  I  send  you  some  of  its  choic- 
est specimens  : — 

"Viri  illustres,"  I  began,  "  insolitus  ut  sum  ad  publi- 
cum loquendum,  ego  propero  respondere  adcomplimentura 
quod  recte  reverendus  prelaticus  mihi  fecit,  in  proponendo 


», 


\/ 


(■.- 


VI.J 


SPEECHIFYING  IN  LA  TIN. 


43 


f 


meam  salptem  :  et  supplico  vos  credere  quod  multum  grat- 
ificatusf  Qt  flattificatus  sum  hpnore  tarn  distincto. 

'^Bibere,  viri  illustres,  res  esf,  quae  in  omnibus  ten-is, 
'  domTim  venit  ad  hominum  negotia  et  pectora :  ^  (i)  re- 
'  quirit  haustuni  longum;  haustum  f^rtem,  et  haustum  om- 
*nes  simul : '  (2)  ut  canit  Poeta,  '  uniim  factum  Naturje  to- 
'  turn  orben  facit  consanguineum,'  (^  et  hominis  Natura 
est — bibere  (4)t  • 

"  Vir^  illustres,  alterum  est  sentimeniium  equaliter  univer- 
sale :  terfa  communjs  super  quam  septentrionales  et  meri-. 
dionales, 'ieadem  enthusiaSma  convenire  possunt :  est  ne- 
cesse  quod  id  nominarem  ?  Ad  pulchriim  sexum  de^'Otio  ! 
"  Amor  regit  palatium,  castra,  iucuni:  (5)  Dubito  sub 
quo  capite-vestram  jucundam  civitatem  numerare  debeam. 
Palatium  ?  non  Regem  !  Castra  ?  non\  milites  !  lucum  ? 
non  ullam  arborem  habetis  f  Tamen  Cujiido  vos  dominat 
baud  aliter  quam  alios, — et  virginum  Islatodarum  pulchri- 
tuclo,  per  omnes.re^iones  cognita  est, 

"  Bibamus  salutem  earum,  et  confusioAem  ad  omnes 
bacularios  :  speramus  quod  eie  caroe  et  benedicta  creaturze 
invenient  tot  maritos  qubt  velint, — quod  ge^inos  quotta- 
nis  habeant,  et  quod  earum  filiae,'  maternum  ^xemplum  se- 
quentes,  gentem  KTandicam  perpetuent  in  sWcula  ssecu- 
lorum."  \ 

The  last  words  ipeshanicaJ^'^HtpUed  out,  in  the  same 

1  As  the  happiness  of  these  quotations  seemed  to  proiluce  a  vefj 
pleasing  effect  on  my  auditors,  I  subjoin  a  trar^ation  of  them  foi  :he 
benefit  of  the  unlearned  : —  j^f/ 

1.  "Comes  home  to  men's  business  and  hosor(il^"—PatiT/amUias, 
Times.  4 

2.  "  A  long  pull,  a  sttong  jgdl,  and  a  pull  all  together.','At-J!V^/j«»  tti 
the  Nile.  ^  \ 

3.  "One  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole  won^jj  kin."— 7^r«ii» 
Bentham. 

4.  Apothegm  by  the  late  Lprd  Mountcoffeehouse. 
?.  "  Lqye  rules  the  court,  the  camp,  the  ^o\t."—Venemble  B^. 

__ . .. _ _ ^^ 


A 


K> 


■^s^gW 


m 


o 


,>,; 


'i' 


<v 


% 


44 


LETTERS  FROM  fn'^, LATITUDES. 


Am 


•1  ■      .  <$-??^    «j.w 

ble.  ,15;  *f^  :■?!«' 


t| 


tinie))e-|)^(i..t^li^<^l 
%devel 


"ore  rotundo"  with  whi(|^  the  p^or  old  Dean  ^  C 
church  used  to  finish  l^s  Gloria,  e^.^  in  the  Igathadral 

I'hen  fol-j$jtWed  more- speeche^|^*i  great;^  M*nkingl| 

glfs^es,— a  Pabel  of  conversation,— ^ffeirnd  of  |p^  round\^ 

th^ittl^,  while  we  successively  galli|itf ch  alteCiiale  h^r^d, 

*«'-'  last  figure  of.  the  Lancer^,— ^Jiearty  eriibrji|ef^i 

rnor,-^aiid  fin^}y,;;|^en(»e,  da^i|ht,  and  8eih5r,' 

street 

To  gd"%a  bed  was  imposSl- 
'4tches,  and  as  bright 
o'clock  ;  but  by  this  '  ;, 
enlargement  of  the  mind,  -"^ 
^'        '^pW^^t'^^'-'ir   ■---r'^'iP"^' w^'^h  is 'expressed    %■ 
by  Tftii  telTp«^|ai^i4^-4eu'bfe,"— though  he  now  preterjds  he   #'  ■ 
.wasbnJyreqt^rtlngtiife  in  the  Venetian  manner.  We  were   '% 
^the  PO«^«  Of  thfee  fa:st  young  men  about  Reykjavik. 
•  Bterminedldytiake  a  night  of  it,  but  without  the  where- 
■  withah     Ther<«':||vere  neither  knockers  to  steal,  nor  watch- 
leWto  bbri'net.  *  At  last  we  remembered  that  the  apotheca 
wife(.had  a  conversazione,  to  Which  she  had  kindly  in- 
Js  ;  and  accordingly,  off  \vp  went  to  hfer  house.  H^re 
^'foujjd  a  number  of  French  officers,  apianb,  and  a  young 
lady.;, in  consequence  of  )vhich  tHe^drum  soon  becanie  a 
%v    ^^1'-  ■   Fin-iJly,  it.  was  proposed  we  should  dance  a  reel ;  the 
^4  ^cpiid  lieutenant  of  the  "■Artetnise>"  had  once  seen  one  when 
*'    his  sJiip  was  riding  out  a  gale  in  the  Clyde  ;— the  little-lady 
hc\d  ||-equently  studied  a  picture  of  the  Highland  fling  on 
tbe''oa|ftlde  of  a  copy  of  Scotch  music  ; — I  could  dance  a 
jig — the  set  was  complete,  all  we  wanted  was  music.  Luck- 
^jJHtTie  lady  of  the  house  knew  the  song  of  "  Annie  Laurie," 
— ^yed  fast  it  made  an  excellent  reel  tune.     As  you  may 
suppose,  all  succeeded  admirably  ;  we  nearly  died  of  laugh- 
ing, and  I  only  wish  Lord  Ereadalbane  had  been,  by  to  see. 

At  one  in  the  mo^nrng, Sj^danscuse  retiring  to  rest, 
ball  necessarily  tern^inatei^Slgjt  the  Governor's  dinner  ^ 


t 


f 


■M~£n 


VI-.] 


WINCED  RABBITS. 


45- 


V 


forbidding  bed,  we  determined  on  a  sail  in  the\utter  to    " 
some  islands  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  out  to  sea  ;  and  • 
,  I  do  not  think  I  shall  ever  forget  the  delicious  sensation  of " 
■^  lying  down  lazily  in'  the  stern-sheets,  and  listening  tQ.  the 
rippling  of  the  water  against  the  bows  of  the  boat,  as  she 
glided  away  towards  them.     The  dreamy,  misty  landscape, 
—each  headland  silently  sleeping  in  the  unearthly  light,— 
Sncefell,  from  whose  far-off  peaks  the  midnight  sun,  though-, 
lost  to  us,  \m.  never  faded,— the  Plutonic  crags  that  stood 
around,  so  gaunt  and  weird,— the  quaint  fresh  life  I  had  been 
lately  leading,— all  combined  to  promise  such  an  existence  ^ 
of  novelty  and  excitement  in  that  strange  .;Vrctic  region  on 
the  threshold  of  which  we  were  now  pausing,  that  I  could 
not  sufficiently  congratulate  myself  on  our  good  fortune. 
Soon,  however,  the  grating  of  our  keel  upon  the  strand  <Ua-    • 
turbed  my  reflections,  and  by  the  time  I  had  unaccounta- 
bly stepped  up  to  my  knees  in  .the  water,  I  was  hioroughly/" 
awake,  and  in  a  condition  to  explore  the  i»l.^d.     It  seemed 
to  be  about  three-qulirters  of  a  mile  long,  not  very  broad, 
and  a  complete  rabbit-warren  ;  in  fact,  I  could  not  walk  a 
dozen  yards  without  tripping  up  in  the  qumerous  burrows 
by  which  the  ground  was  honeycombed  :  at  last,  on  turning 
a  corner,  we  suddenly  came  on  a  dozen  rabbits,  gravely  sit- 
ting l^t  the  inouths  bf  tliiiir  holeS.     They  were  quite  white, 
without  ears,  and  with  scarlet  noses.     I  made  several  des- 
peralje  attempts  to  catch  some  of  these  singular  animals 
but  th6ugh  one  or  two  allowed  me  to  come  pretty  near,  just 
as  I  jthought  n:iy  prize  was  secure,  in  some  unaccountablt' 
manijier — it  made  unto  itself  wings,  and  literally  flew  away  I 
Moreover,  if  my jye%i|Jjt  dTd  i|J%are  the  peculiar  devel- 
opment whic^^^a'thift'  df  thaj^ctor's,  I  should  say 
that  these  rabWs  flew  in  paii^^    J^tl^nosed,  winged  rab- 
bits !     I  %"d  pever  he^d|)r  read  of  the  spegks  ,-  and,  I  nat- 
urally grew  enthusiastic  in  the  chase,  hg^in^-to  brirag'home .^^ 
a  choice  specimen  to  asto||j^h  our  English  naturalist^*  wTth 

M     .  ^  ■ 


■  i 


■^ 


w-9* 


^^^-^'^ 


.  *«^. 


»    •     ■       .-  t 


^ 


46  LETTERS  FROM  mCH  LATITUDES.  [VI. 

soine  difficulty  we  managed  to  catch  one  or  two,  which  had 
run  into  their  holes  instead  of  flying  away.  ,  They  bit  and 
scratched  like  tiger-cats^  and  screamed  like  parrots  ;  indeed, 
on  a  nearer  inspectioif,  I  ap  obliged  to  confess  that  they 
assumed  the  appearance  of  birds,i  which  may  perhaps  ac- 
count/or  their  powers  of  flight.     A  slight  confusion  still 
remains  in  my  mind  as  to  the  real  nature  of  the  creatures. 
At  about  nine  o'clock  we  returned  to  breakfast ;  and  the 
rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  taking  leave  of  our  friends,  and 
organizing  the  baggage-train,  which  was  to  start  at  mid- 
night, under  the  command  of  the  cook.     The  cavalcade 
consisted  of  eighteen  horses„  but  of  these  only  one-half 
were  laden,  two  animals  being  told  off  to  each .  burthen, 
which  is  shifted  from  the  back  of  the  one  to  that  of  the  oth- 
er  e\^r>'  four  hours.     The  pack-saddles  were  rude,  but  ser- 
viceable articles,  with  hooks  on  either  side,  on  which  a  pair 
of  oblQng  little  chests  were  slung  ;  strips  of  turf  being  stuf- 
fed beneath  to.,  prevent  the  creature's  back  being  galled. 
Such  of  our  goods  as  could  not  be  conveniently  stowed 
away  in  the  chests  were  fitted  on  to  the  top,  in  whatever 
manner  their  size  and  wejght  adtmtted\  each  pony  carrying 
about  140  lbs.     The  phc|ograpMc  appiratu'.  raused  us  the 
greatest  trouble,  and  had  to^e  distriHuied  between  two 
beasts.     As  was  to  be  e;t^cted,  the  guides  who  assisted 
us  packed  the  nitrate  of  silver  bath  upside  down  ;  an  out- 
rage the  nature  of  which  you  cannot  app^ciate.     At  last  ' 
everything  was  pretty  well  arranged,— gunk,  powder,  shot, 
tea-kettles,  rice,  ten'!s,  beds,  portable  soups,  itc.,  all  stowed 
away— wl^en  the  desponding  Wilson  came .  io,  me,  his  chin 
sweeping  the  ground,  to  say— that  he  very  much  feared  the 
cool^  would  die  of  the  ride,-that  he  had  nfcver  been  on 
horseback  in  his  life,— that  as  an  experiment  ke  had  hired 


^  The  Puffin  {Aha  arctica)\'a.  Icelandic,  Soe-papagoie , 
Priest :  and  in  Cornwall,  Po^e. 


In  Scotland, 


\- 


5  ' 


■  ■nA-IiiI.'  I^ifa»ii  IIM1.-L— 


'■■■■If-'  ■,?-'?%:■-    Jt  • 


vr.] 


WINGED  RABBFTS. 


■\ 


47 


a  pony  that  very  morning  at  his  own  charges,— had  been 
run  away  with,  but  having  been  cauglit  and  brought  home 
by  a  honest  Icelander,  was  now  lying  down--that  position 
being  the  one  he  found  most  coi^venient. 

As  the  first  day's  journey  was  two-and-thirty  miles,  and 
,^  would  probably  necessitate  his  being  twelve  or  thirteen  ' 
hours  in  the  saddle;  I  began  to  be  really  alarmed  for  my 
poor  chef;  but  finding  on  inquiry  that  these  gloomy  prOg-  " 
nostics  were  entirely  Voluntary  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Wilson, 
that  the  officer  in  question  was  full  of  zeal,  and  only  too 
anxious  to  add  horsemanship  to  hi^  other  accomplishments, 
I  did  not  interfere.  As  for  Wilson  himself,  it  is  not  a  mar- 
vel if  he  should  see  things  a  little  askew;  for  some  unac- 
countable reason,  he  chose  to  sleep  last  night  in  the  open 
air,  on  the  top  of  a  hen  coop,  and  naturally  awoke  this 
morning  with  a  crick  in  his  neck,  and  his  face  so  in^mov- 
ably  fixed  over  his  left  shoulder,  that  the  efforts  oi  ^\  the 
ship's  company  have  not  been  able  to  twist  it  back  ;  with 
the  help  of  a  tackle,  however,  I  think  we  shall  eventually 
brace  it  square  again. 

At  two  we  went  to  lunch  with  the  Rector.     The  enter- 
tainment bore  a  strong  family  likeness  to  our  last  night's 
dinner ;  but  as  I  wanted  afterwards  to  exhibit  my  magi<^ 
liintern  to  his  little  daughter  Raghnilder,  and  a  select  par- 
ty of  h£r  young  friends,  we  contrived  to  elude  doing  full 
justice  to  it.     During  the  remainder  of  the  evening,  like 
Job's  children,  we  went  about  feSisting  from  house  to  house, 
taking  leave  of  friends  who  could  not  have  ^been  kinde-r  ' " 
hid  they  known  us „ all  our  lives,  and  intercKanging  littfe 
gifts  and  souvenirs.    With  the  Governor  I  have  left  a  print      ' 
from  the  Princess  Royal's  drawing  of  the  dead  soldier  in 
.the  Crimea.     From  the  Rector  of  the  cathedral  church  I 
''^^e^ceived  some  very  curious  books— almost  the  first 
printMin  tl^e  i«la^|I  have  been  very  anxious  to  obtain 
somte  specimenfj^^^Pient  Icelandic  manuscripts,  but  the 


,|i»' 


/ 


"■,.;•■'  T '. 


48 


l£T7J^/fS 


■  / 


island  has  long  sine 
/ires  ;  and  to  the  kl 


TUDES 


a* 


[VI. 


of*  its  literary  treas- 
l        ■  -   — -  -re-y  "''ihe  French  consul  I  am)  in- 

debted for  a  .chaiglSfe  little  white  fox,  the  droIlcTTand 
prettiest  little  Ueast""!  ever  saw.  ,    A     • 

Having  dine'4  on  board  the  "^r/m/J,"  we  acljourned 

at  eleven  o'clock  to  the  beach  to  ""'"r.lBgjWtflTt  --.  j: 

the  baggage,^.  The  ponies  wtfre  all  cf?l^ilp  inVe  fohg 

file,  the  head  9f  eachi^eing  tied  to  the   tail  »f  the  one  im- 

mediately^t^re  him.     Additional   articLs   were  stowed 

.  away  here||l,there  among  the  boxes.  The  last  instructions' 

,..  were  g,veti^  Sigurdr  to  the  guides,  and  everything  was 

declared^^y  for  a  start.     .  , 

Thell^ial  Wilson  rides  with  us  to-morrow.  Unless  we 
gethis  head  round  during  the  night,  he  will' have  to  sit 
facing;  his  horse's  t^jl,  in  order  to  see  before  him.      '    * 

We 'do  not  seem  to  run  any  danger  of  falling  short  of 
provisions,  as  1^  all  accounts  there  are-  bir£  enough  in  the 
interior  of  the  country  to  feed  an  Israelitish  emigration 


.^ 


:»-i*3i;.  .'-"Jsik. 


LETTER  VII. 


'-^j  >».<>«^»i.i.)*-t-?k  *.]»«.  »n**„. 


KISSES — WILSON'OM  HORSEBACK— A  LAVA  PLATEAU— THINO- 
^     VALLA  —  ALMANNAOIA  —  RABNAGIA  —  OUR    TENT  —  THE 

>  SHIVERED  PLAIN— WTTCH-DROWNING A -PARLrAMENTARy 

DEBATE,  A.    D.    lOOO THAMGBRAND   THE    MISSIONARY — A 

GERMAN  GNAT-CATCHER-^THE  M#TICAL  MOUNTAINS— 
■SIR  OLAF— HECRLA— SKAPTA  JOKUL— THE  FIRJ-:  DELUGE 
<^il783— WE  REACH  THE  GEYSIR— STRQKR-^FITZ's  BONNE 
FORpNE— MbRK    KISSE5— AN    ERUPTION— PRINCE    NAPO: 

LEON — RETURN— TRADE — POPULATION— A  MUTINY THE. 

REINE  HORTENS.E— THE  SEVEN  DUTCHMEN— A  BALL— LOW 
PRESSES^-NORTHWARD  HO  ! 

Reykjavik,  July  7,  1856. 
jl£st  I  hSve  seen  the  famous  Geysirs,  of  which  every 
°"^  ^^^""^  ^°  "^"ch  ;  but  I  h»<also  seen  Thingvall^ 
of  which  no^^  has  heard  anything.  The  Geysirs  are  cer- 
tainly wondlB|  marvels  of  nature,  but  more  wonderful, 
more  marvelloill  is  Thingvalla  ;  and  if  the  one  repay  you 
for  crossing  the  Spanish  Sea,  it  would  be  worth  while  to 
go  round  the  world  to  reach  the  other. 

Of  the  boillhg  fountains  I  think  I  can  give  you  a  good 
idea,  but  whether  I  can  contrive  to  draw  for  you  anything 
like  a  comprehensible  picture  of  the  shape  and  nature  of 
\  the  Almanriagja,  the  Hrafnagja,  and  tlte  lava  vale,  called 
Thingvalla,  that  lies-^Detween  them,  I  am  doubtful.  Before 
coming  to  Iceland  I  had  read  every  account  that  had  been 
written  of  Tliin|valla  by  any  former  traveller,  a  id  when  I 
saw  it,  it  appea^d  to  me  a  place  of  which  I  had  never 
heard  ;  so  Jsuppose  I  shall  come  to  grief  in  as  melancholy 

4.  *> 


\y 


4 

/ 


50  \e iters  from  high  la titudbs.  '     \\'\t 

a  manner  a\s  my  predecessors,  whose  ineffectual  pages 
whiten  the  Entrance  to  the  valley  they  ha.e  failed  to 
describe.  \    ' 

Having  suiierintended-as  1  think  1  mentioned  td  you 
in  my  last  lettk— the  midnight   departure   of  the   c6ok 
guides,  and  kigWe,  we  returned  on  board   for  a  go0d 
night's  rest,  which  we  all  needed.     The  start  was  settled 
for  the  next  morni\ig  at  elev,en  o'clock,  and  yo^  may  sup- 
pose we  were  not  s(\rry  to  find,  on  waking,  the'B-right  joy- 
ous sunshine  pouring  down  through  the  cabin  skyliglu,  and 
illuminating  the  whiti-robed,  well-furnished  breakfast-table 
with  more  than  usu?^  splf^ndor.     At  the  appointed  hour 
we  rowed  a^ihore  to  whc\re  our  eight  ponies— two  bein-  as- 
;«igned  to  each  of  Us,  to  t^e  ridden  alternatelv—wfere  stand- 
ing ready  liridled  and  sacidred,  jt  the  house'of  one  of  our 
kindest  friends.     Of  course,   though  but  just  risen   from 
breakfast,   the    inevitable  Vnyitation    to    eat    and    drink 
awaited  us  ;  and  another  h;\lf-hour  was  spent  in  sippino 
cups  of  coffee  poured  out  f^r  us  with  much  laughter  by 
our  hostess  and  her  pretty  daughter.     At  Idst,  the  neces- 
sary libations  accomplis'hed;  we\rose  to  go.  Turning  round | 
to  Fitz,  I  whispered,  how  I  had  Always  understood  it  was^ 
the  proper  thing  in  Iceland  for  travellers  departing  on  aj 
journey  to  kiss  the  ladies  who  hac\  been  good  enough  to  ^ 
entertain  them,— little  imagining  he\  would  take  me  at  my  i 
word.     Guess  then  my  horror,  when\l  suddenly  slw  him    1 
•with  an  intrepidity  I  envied  but  dared  not  imitate,  first  em-*  \ 
brace  the  mamma,  by  way  of  prelude,  and  then  proceed, 
in  the  most  natural  manner  possible,  to  make  the  same    ! 
tender  advances  to  the  daughter.   ,  I  confess  I  remained 
dumb  with  consternation  j  the  room  swam  round  before 
me  :   I  expected  the  next  minute-  we  should  be  packed     ^ 
neck  and  crop  into  the  street,  and  that  the  young  lady      > 
would  have  gone  off  into  hysterics.     It  turned  out,  how- 


ever,  that  such  was  the  very  last  thing  she  was  thinking 

of 

i 

1 
1 

i 

f.. 

•            • 

;                          1 
1 

\ 

\ 
\ 

■  > 

- 1             

vu.j 


H'l-:  s/AA/: 


4'^ 


doing.  With  a  simple  fninknoss  that  became  her  more 
tlian  all  the  boarding-schuol  graces  in  the  world,  her  eyes 
dancMig  with  mischief  .and  good  humor,  she  met  him  half 
way,  and  pouting  out  two  rosy  lips,  gave. him  as  hearty  a 
kiss  as  it  might  ever  be  llie  good  fortune  of  one  of  us  hc- 
^reaturcs  to  receive.  Irom  that  moment  1  dettrmmed  to 
■conform  for  the  future  to  tiie  customs  of  the  inhabitants. 


«i< 


1^ 


Fresh  from  favors'  such  as  these,  it  was  not  surprising 
we  should  start  in  the  highest.s^|\  With  a  courtesy 
peculiar  to  Iceland.,  Dr.  Hjaltel|rth|J(Tiost  jovia!  of -doc- 
tors,—and  another  gentleman,  insWedqn  conveying  us  the 
first  dozen  rt^iles  of  our  journey  ;  and  as  we  clattered  away 


/ 


. 


52  ■  LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


[VII. 


through  the  wooden  streets,  I  think  a  merrier  pariy  never 
set  out  frem  Reykjavik.  In  front  scampered  the  three 
spare  pomes,  vvitliout  bridles,  saddles,  or  any  sense^  of 
moral    responsibility,   flinging  "up  their  heels,  biting  a.^ 

"^'gh'ng  like  mad  things  •  then  came  Sigurdr,  now  become 

our  cihef,  surrounded  by  the  rest  of  the  caValcade  ;  and 
■  hna  ly    at   a   httle    distance,    plunged  in   profound    mel- 
ancholy,  rode   Wilson.     Never  shall  I  forget  his  appear-     ' 
ance.     During   the    night   his    head   had    cr)m3   pirtially   ,^ 
straight,  but  byway  of  precaution,  I  suppose,  he  had-coh- 
ceiyed  the  idea  of  burying  it  down  to  the  chin  in  a  hu-e  • 
scal-skin  helmet  1  hadgiveh  him  against'the  inclemencies 
of  the  Polar  Sea.     A^on   this  occasion  the   thermometer  * 
was  at  8 1^  and  a  coup-de-s,Ul  svx%  the  chief  thin- to   be 
feared,  a  ton  of  fur  round  his  skull  Nvas  scarcely  nercs§ary!l 
Seamen's  trousers,  a  bright  scariet  jersey,  and  jack-boots 
fringed  with  cat-skin,  completed'  his  costume;  and  as  he 
■proceeded  along  io,his  usual  state  of  chronic  consternation 
.VWj  my  rifle  slung  at  his  back  and  a  cbuple  of  telescopes 
oveAhi^  shoulder,  he  Jooked  the  image  of  Robinson  .Cru- 
soe, ft^h  from  hiving  seen  the  foot-print.  ■ 

A  co^^^li^hours'  ride  across  the  lava  plain  we  had"'.     . 
previously   trapsed. rf^rouglit    us    to  a  rivVr,    where,  our     • 
Reykjavik  frieUs,  after^  showing  us  a  salm^n^weir,  finally 
took  their  leave,  Vith  many  kintl  wishes  for  our  prosperity.    ^ 
On  looking  throj^h^he  clear  water  that  hissed'and  bubbled 
through  the  wotocfen  sluice,  the  Doctor  had  caugh't  sight  of 
an  apparg/tly  dead  salmon,  jammed  up  against  its  wooden'      ■ 
barsr  biit  on  pulUng  him  out,  he  proved  to  be  still  breath/ 
,.  'ng,  though  his  tail  ^s  immovably  twisted  into  his  mouth    ' 

A  consultation  taking  pla(^e,  the  Doctors  both  a-reed  that    " 
It  was  a  case  of  pleurosthotonos,  brought  on  by  merhani-  ' 
I.         cal  injury  t^^he  spine  (\Ye  had,  just  been   talking  of  Pal'  '     " 
~  .         mer's.trjal),  and  that  ha  was  perfectly  fit  for  food.     In  ac- 
^       ■    .     '^^^dance.wlth  this  verdict,  lie  wa^^  knocked  on  t<,e 'head. 


■'\. 


1 


-     ;  4    i^  , 


VII.J 


SADA£SS  AND  JOILITY. 


^ 


S3 

and  slung  at  Wilson's  saddle-bow.  Left  to  ourselves,  we 
now  pushed  on  as  rapidly  as  we  could,  though*  the  track . 
across  the  lava  was  so  uneverythat  every  moment  lexpect- 
ed  Snorro  (fpr  thus  have  I  christened  my  pony)  would  be 
on  his  nose.  In  another  hour  we  were  among  the  hills. 
The  scenery  of  this  part  of  the  journey  was  not  very  beau- 
tiful, the  mountains  not  being  remarkable,  either  for  their 
size  or  sjjape,  but  here  and  there  we  came  upon  pretty 
Bits,  not  unlike;  some  of  the  barren  piVts  of  Scotlancf,  with 
quiet  blue  lakes  sleeping  in  the  solitude. 
f»  After  wandering  along" for  some  time  in  a  broad  open 
jalley,  that  gradually  narrowed  to  a  glen,  we  reached  a 
.  "  grassy  patch,  ^s,  it  was  past  three  o'clock,  Sigurdr  pro- 
posed a  halt. 

Unbridling  and  unsaddling  our  steeds,  we  turned  them 

loose  upon  the  pasture,  and  sat  ourselves  down  on  a  sunny 

<*■  Icnoll  to  lunch.   For  the  first  time  since  landing  in  Iceland 

■  ^        If^thun^^;  ^  for  the  first  time,  four  successive  hours 
.       had  elapsed  witHout  our  having  been  compelled' t(/ take  a 

■  ^''"^SS^'  ^^}^  appetjtes  of  the  ptfties  seemed  eqnal!y:good, 
Igji  prbbably  with  theui  hunger  was  no  such  novelty. 
'"'  looked  sad.     He  confided  toine  privately  that  he 

is  trousers  would  not  last  suqh  jolting  many-aJlys  ; 
but  his  dolefulness,  like  a  bit  qf  minor  in  a  sparkling  Yhel- 
ody.'-only  made  our  jollity  more  radiant.  In  ab(^an  hour 
Sigurdr  gave  the  signal  for  a  start ;  and  having  caught, 
saddled,  and  bridled  three  unridden  ponies,  we  drove' 
Snorro  and  his  companions  to  the  front,  and  proceeded  on 
our  way  rejoicing.  After  an  hour's  gradual  ascent  through 
a  pi<?tur,esque ^ravine,  -ve  emerged  upon  an  immense  daso- 
late^ilateau  of  lav%  that  stretched  away  for  miles  and 
miles  like  a  great  stony  sea.  Ajiiore  barren  desert  you 
cannot  .conceive.  Innumerable  boulders,  relics  ?of  the 
glacial  period,  encumbered  the  track.  We  could  only  go 
.  at^foot;pace..    Not  a  blade  of  grass,  not  a  strip  o|^reJn, 


fedfef 


•rf 


y 


*ik 


V  ,.i 


;  .  ■  1 


Ur 


"ii 


54 


LETTERS  FROM  ll/CIl  LATITUDES. 


r 


■n 


[VII. 


enlivened  the  prospect,  and  the  only  sound  we  heard  was 
the  croak  o"  the  curlew  and  the  wail  of  the  plover.  Hour 
after  hour  we  plodded  on,  but  the  grey  waste  seemed  in- 
tcrininable,  boundless  ;  and  the  only  consolation  Sigurdr 
woidd  vouchsafe  was,  that  our  journey's  end  lay  on  this 
side  of  some  purple-mountains  that  peeped  like  the  tents 
of  a  demon  leaguer  above  the  stony  horizon. 

.As  it  was  already  eight  o'clock,  and  we  had  been  told 
the  entire  distance  froni  Reykj  ivik  to  Thingv;^lla  was  only 
five-and-thirty  miles,  I  could  not  comprehend  how  so  great 
a  space  should  still  sepaVate  us  from  our  destination. 
Concluding  rtiore  time  had  been  lost  in  shooting,  lunching, 
etc.,  by  the  way  than  we  had  sujiposed,  I  put  my  pony  into 
a  canter,  and  determined  to  make  short  work  of  the  dozen 
miles  which  seemed  stillto  lie  between  us  and  the  hills, 
on  this  side  of  which  I  understood  from  Sigurdr  our  en- 
camptni  u\  for  the  night  was  to  be  pitched. 

jnrlgc,  then,  of  my  astoin'shment  when,  a  few  minutei, 
afterwa-rds,  I  was  arrested  in  full  career  by  a  tremendous 
precipice,  or  rather  chasm,  which  suddenly  gaped  beneath 
jny>feet,  and  completely  separated  the  barren  plateau  we 
had  been  so  painfully  traversing  from  a  lovely,  gay,  sunlit 
flat,  t(fn  miles  broad,  that  lay — sunk  at  a  level  lower  by  a 
hundred  feet— lietween  us  and'  the  opposite  mountains.  I 
was  never  so  completely  taken  by  surprise  ;  Sigurdr's  pur- 
posely vague  description  of  our  halting-place  was  account- 
ed for. 

We  had  reached  the  famous    Almanna  Gja.     Like  p 

black  rampart  in  the  distance,  the  corresponding  chasm  of 

the  Hrafna  Gja  cut  across  the   lower  slojje  of  the  distant 

hills,  and  between  tliem  now  slept  in  beauty  and  sunshine 

the  broad  verdant  ^  plain  of  Thingvalla. 

Agesiigo, — who  shalTsay  how  long.? — some  vast  com- 

n 
I  The  phiin  of  Thingvalla  i.s  in  a  great  measure  clothed  with  birch 
brushwood.        -  ♦ 

I 


IL 


; 


-1'  k 


I      / 


u 


,♦?, 


f 

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i 

J 

k     ■ 

■     ■'   . 

r  ■■  .  ?i 

i 

V  jP      ... 

i 

«-■ 

■^'^- 

,, 

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^ 

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A 

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;^ 

" 

" 

\ 

k 

« 

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i 

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k 

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,  > 

';   ■>■ 

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•    • 

i 

..:  ■■■.          '^  ■ 

^    " 

'  '     "  .        '        '     . 

"     -                                              '  ■>          *,       ' 

>                                    '                »* 

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, 

^H 

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,   ^  -^     "'■• 

V-   ^  I  ■  ■ 

>-'"■ 

.'■' 

X^,.:\-:.y^J>... 

'  '  »            #  •  ^ 

VII.] 


ALMA.YiVA  GJA. 


57 


motion  shook ^he  foundations  of  the  island,  and  bubbling 
up  from  sourcles  far  away  .amid  the  inland  hills,  a  fiery  del- 
■  uge  must  iiave  rushefUlown  between  their  ridges,  until, 
escaping  from  the.naffower  gorges,  ii  found  space  to 
Spread  itself  into  one  broad  sheet  of  molten  stone  over  an 
entire  district  of  country,  reducing  its  varied  surface  to 
one  vast  blackened  l(jvel.  ^ 

One  of  two  things,  then  occurred:  either  the  vitrified 
mass  contracting  as  it  cooled,— the  centre  area  of  fifty 
square  miles  burst  asunder  af  either  side  from  the  adjoin- 
ing plateau,  and  sinking  down  ta  its  i>rl\sent  level,  left  th 


two  parallel  Gjas,  or  chasms',  which  form  its  lateral  bound-' 
«^ries,  to  mark  the  limits  of  'tli€  disruption;  or  else,  while 
the  pith  orijiarrow  of-.the  laya  was  still  in  a  fluid  state,  its 
uppfer  surface  became  solid,'Mnd  formed  a  roof  beneath 
which  the  molten  stream  flowed  on  to  lower  levels,  leaving 
a  vast  cavern  into  .which"  the  upper  crust  subsequJitly 
.  plumped  down.?  '    ,       ' 

The  enclssed  section  will  perhapi  help  vou  a  little  to 
comprehend   what  I  am, afraid  my  description  will  have 

.failed  to  bring  before  you,  V^  'i 

*  •'  .         ■       t 


> 


>  Gjas.         ■        •   2  Lava  deluge.     •      .    '  3  OrigirtalsWace 
4   Ihmgvalla  sunk  to  a  lower  level.    -  5;  Astonished  traveller. 

I  I  feel  it  is  very  presumptuous  irf  me  to  ha'zard..^  coniccturc  on  a 
subject  with  which' my  want  of  geological  knowledge  renders  me  quite 
'"competent  to.  deal ;  but  honjever  incorre^Y  either  of  the  above  sup- 
positions Aiayl*.ii,stly  considered  bx  .he  philosophers,  thfv  will  per- 


%♦. 


>  . 


X 


V 


T~ 


>.^;'^■'n>..  ,'^  :j»  v;v, 


i '.  1 


.r^ 


r  . 


S8 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TITUDES.  {Vll. 


t' 


1 


I.  Are  th"e  two  chasms  called  respectively  Almanna 

Gja,  1  or  Main  Gja,  apd  Hrafna  Gja,  or  Raven's  Gja.     In 

the  act.  of  disruption   the  sinking  mass  fell   in,  as  it  were 

upon. itself,  so  that  ont  side  of  the  Gja  slopes  a  good  deal 

a*>ack  as  it  ascends;  the  other  side  is  perfectly  perpendicu- 

^^  lar,  and  at  the  spot  I  saw  it  upwards  of  one  hundred  feet 

r^     high.     In  the  lapse  of  years  the  bottom  of  the  Almanna 

Gja  has  become  gradually  filled  up  to  an  even  surface   " 
^       cpvered  with  the  most  beautiful  turf,  except  where  a  river' 
,   ■leaping  from   the  higher  plateau  over  the  precipice  has  ^V 
chosen  It  for  a  bed.     You  must  not  suppose,  hpwever,  that  '  'r 
the  disruption  and  land-slip  of  Thingvalla  took  place  quite 
in  the  spick  ^nd  span  manner  the  section  might  ^fead  you 
to  imagine  ;  in  s<5me  places  the  rock  has  split  asunder  very 
unevenly,  and   the   Hrafna  Gja  is  altogether  a  very  untidy 
rent  the  sides  having  fallen  in  in  many  places,  and  almost 
filled  up  the  ravine  with  ruins.     On  the  other  hahd,  in  the 
Almanna  Gja,  you  can  easily  distinguish  on  the  one  face 
marks  and  formations  exactly  corresponding,  though  at  a 
dififerent  Jevel,  with  tho.se  on  the  face  opposite,  so  cleanly 
were  they  separated. 

2.  Is  the  sea  of  lava  now  lying  on  the  top  of  the  origi- 
nal surface.     Its  depth  I  had  no  means  of  ascertaining 

3-  Is  the  level  of  the  surface  first  formed  when  the  lava 
was  still  hot. 

4-  Is  the  plain  of  Thingvalla,  eight  miles  broad,  its  sur- 
face shattered  into  a  network  of  innumerable  crevices  and 
fissures  fiftyor  sixty  feet  deep,  and  each  ^\<1^  enough  to 

haps  serve  to  convey  .„  the  unlearned  reader,  for  whose  amusement      ' 
(not  >nstruction)  these  letters  are  intended,  the  impression  conveyed 
to  my  mind  1,^  what  I  saw,  and  so  help  out  the  picture  I  am  trying  to 
fill  m  for  him.  ^  •'    * 

I  Almanna  maybe  translated  main;  it  means  literally  «//»,«,•,. 
when  applied  to  a  road,  it  would  mean  the  road  along  which  all  the 


\        t 


T       *- 


mMsS 


VII.] 


PLAT^  OF  THINGVALLA. 


ilmanna 

■ 

ja.     In 

lo  '-' 

It  were, 

od  deal 

endicu- 

■ 

■ed  feet 

4 

Itnanna 

iurface,  " 

1 

a  river, 
ce,  has  <^^^ 

*    % 

:r,  that     ^r 

; 

e  quite 

ad  you    . 
er  very 

untidy 

almost 

i 

in  the 

': 

e  face 

* 

;li  at  a 

leanly 

59 


have  swalloved  the  entire  company  of  Korah.     At  tho' 
foot  of  the  plain  iies  a  vast  lake,   into  which,  indeed,  it 
'may  be  said  to  slope,  with  a  gradual  inclination  from   the 


C^l/Tl" 


y^fff-? 


I   Plain  of  Thingvalla 
3  Lava  plateau. 

5  Rabna  Gja. 


i  T.akc. 

4  Almanna  Gja. 


north,  the  imprisoned  waters  having  burst  up  through  the 
lava  strata,  as  it  subsided  beneath  them.  Gazing  down 
through  their  emerald  depths,  you  can  still  follow  the  pat- 
tern traced  on  the  surface  of  the  bottom,  by  cracks  and 
chasrns  similar  to  tho.se  into  which  the  dry  portion  of 
Thingvalla  has  been  shivered.  / 

""^"'iHlje  accompanying  ground  plan  will,  I  trust,  compete 
what  is  wanting  to  fill  up  the  picture  I  so  long  to  conjure 
up  before  the  mind's  eye.  It  is  the  last  card  I  have  to 
play,  and,  if  unsuccessful,  I  must  give  up  the  task  in  des- 


/ 


../" 


) 


^° -  LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA TITUDES.  \yi\ 

•      chff,  gazzng  down  vv:,th  astonished  eyes  .over  the  panorama 
of  land  aqd  water  embedded  at  my.fcet.     I  could  scarcely 
'        speak  for  pleasure  and  surpnse  ;  Fitz- was  equ^Hy  taken 
aback,  and  as  for  Wilson,  he  looked  as  if  he'hou'.ht  we 
had  arnved  at  the  end,of  the  world.  After-having  allowed 
us  sufficent  time  to  admire  the  prospect  Sigurdr  turned  to 
the  left,  along  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  u^til  we  reached 
a  narrow  pathwaj,^ccidentally  formed  down  alangitudinal 
n.che  m,„the  -splintered  face  of  the  cliif,  which  led  across 
--  the-.bottom,  and  up  the  opposite  skie  of  the  Gja  into  the 
Vl.1^f^hingva.la.     By  rights  i^r  tents  ougi:^.^:!;: 
arrivjd  before  us,  but^  wiien  we  reached  Ihe  li-itle   gfebe 
_^h^  we  expected  to  find  them  pitched,  no  signs  of  ser- 
vants, guid«s,  or  horses  were  to  be  seen-.    - 

As  we  had  not  overtaken  them  ourselves,  their  non-ap- 
pearance was  inexplicable.  Wilson  suggested  that,  the 
:  cook  .having  died,  on  the  roa^,  the  rest  of  the  party  must 
have  turned  aside  to  bury  him  ;  and  that  we  had  passed 
unperceived  during  the  interesting  ceremony.  Be  the 
cause  what  it  might,  t!^'  result  was  not  agreeable  We 
were  very  tired,  very  hungr-y,  and  U  had  just  begun  to  ' 
"'"•  '   .         /  1     - 

It  IS  true  there  was  a  clergyman's  house  and  a  church, 
both  bmlt  of  stones  covered  with  turf  sods,  close  by:  at 
the  one  perhaps,  wecould  get  milk,  and  in  the  other  we 
couM  sleep,  as  our  betters-including  Madame  Pfciffer- 
had  done  before  us.j  but  its  inside  looked  so  dark,  ^tnd  ^ 
damp,  ana  cold,  and^charnel-like,  that*he  really^ doubted 
whether  lying  in  the  churchyard  would  not  be  snugger 
Youmay  g;/ess,  then,  how  great  was  my  relief  \henou; 
belated  baggage-train  was  descried  against  the  sfcWine  as 
n  slowly  wended  its  way  along  the  purple  ^^  of  the 
precipice  towards  the  staircase  by  wl^ich  we  had  already 


V         .1 


"W" 


'■^'«'-f 


■  Vii, 


V 


A  P\ 


'IC. 


61 


Half  an  hour  afterwards  the  little  plot  of  grass  select- 
ed for  the  site  of  our  encampment  was  covered  over  with 
polesi,  boxes,  Cauldrons,  tea-kettles,  and  all  the  parapher- 
nalia of  a  gipsy  settlement.,  Wilson's  Kaffir  experience 
came  at  once  into  play,  and  under  his  solemn  but  effective 
superintendence,  in  less  than  twenty-  minutes  the  horn- 
headed  tent  rbse,  dry  and  taut  upon  the  sward.  Having 
carpeted  the  floor  with  oil-skiii  rugs,  and  arranged  our 
three  beds  witfi  their  clean  crisp  sheets,  blankets,  and  cov- 
erlets complete,  at  the  -back,  he  proceeded  rto  lay  out  the 
dinner-table  at  the  tent  door  with  as  much  flecorum  as  if 
we  were  expecting  the  Archbis-iiop  of  Canterbury.  All 
this  time  the  cook,  who  looked  a  little  pale,  and  moved,  I 
observed  with  difficulty,-  was  mysteriously  closeted  with  a 
spirit-lamp  inside  a  diminutive  tent  of  his  own.  throu"-h 
the  door  of  which  the  most  delicious  whiffs  occasionally 
permeated.  Olaf  and  his  companions  had  driven  off  the 
horses  to  their  pastures  ;  and  Sigurdr  and  I  were  deep  in 
a  game  of  cl>ess.  Luckily,  the  shovipr,  which  tlfreat'ened 
us  a  moment,  had  blown  over.     Though  now 'almost  nine 

■^  o'clock  p.  M.,  it  was  as  bright  as   mid-day;  the  sky>burned 
like  a  dome  of  gold,  and  silence  and   deep  peace ^^oded  " 
over  the  fair  grass-robed  plain,  that  once  had^been  .sj'fcar- 
fulh  ronvijlsed.  ■  '     .  '         *      •      _     ' 

You  may  be  quite  feure  our  dinner  went  off  merrily  ; 

-^  the  tetanus-afflicted  salmon  proved  excellent,  the  plover 
and  ptarmigan  were  done  to.  q,  turn,  the  mulligatawny  be- 
yond all  praise  ;  biit  alas  T  I  regret  to  add.  that' he — the 
artist,  by  whose  skill  these  triumphs  had  been  a^liieved — 
his  task  accdmpHshed, — no  longer  sustained  by  the  fact! 
tious  energy  resulting  from  his  professional  enthusiasmj— - 
at  last  succiumbed,  and,  retiiin]^  to  the  recesses  oi  ^  tent, 
like^  Psyche  in  the  "  Princess,"  lay  down,  "  ami  neither'' ' 
spoke  nor  stirred." 

^     After  another  game  or  two  of  chess,  a  pleasant  chat,  a 


'-^H 


H  .-/.    ' 


62 


fE^'TEA'S  FHOM  JffGj,  LATITUDES.  [wM^ 

gentle  stfoH,  we  also  turned  in  •  and  for  th  • 

hours  perfect  silence  re.Vned  thro    T  ^  "««  eight 

-ent,  except  .when  wSf^Jso^?"'  '"  ''"^  ^"^^'"P" 
/oundati      ,e  canvas  J^^^^t^:^^  ^  -r 

tHis:::\Xt^.; ilr  ^;7  -  what  ho.,  for  fror/^ 

sunlight  was  strean^n^  LTo   u'  .    7  ^^  "'^'^^-^^^  '^'^''^ 

-ape  was  gleaming  an'dXw  it  r  ^'^'^  '-^- 

the  hottest  suny^er  days  I  ever^  '     '^"'^  °^  °"'^  '^^ 

"ed  in  our  shiZeeves  Lh  r      '""^^'"^er.     We  breakfasN 

in  a  white  ha:dt    Sf^o,  elrL  T'  ^^  ^'^'  '"^  ^^^ 
-^Jl  a  little  stiff  after  our  rl   t    ^\f^  '""•     ^«  ^e  were 

^•on  o'f  spending^I  the  :r  ^td ^  ^^"^^^^^ 
more  !e  surely  the  vv«„^.  r  i  r  '  ^"^  examming 

most  interesting  to  me  on  ..    ''""^^^'^s,  Thingvalla  was 

ciations  connected  ^i  h  ."      Het  1  ^'^  ''^^^"^^^  --  ' 

"•'-"-  -    •  •    -  ""  '^-     "^'^^'  Jo»g  ago,  at  a  period 


when  feudal  des 
throughout  Eu 
and  regulate 
this  hour  th 
ment  areas 


was  the  only  government  known 

f  PYi'f-^ents  used  to  sit  in  peace 

I's  o    the  young  Republic ;  and   to 

— '— asa,sil»^'^^  'fs  Commons  House  of  Parlia- 

the  high-hearted  fS^sof^'^H^"^  ''  °"  '^^  ^^^  ^^en 
them  t'o  the  servi':  o^a ^r L  tti^T  TT'^^^^^' 
asth,  subsidingplain  cracked  ^d  shL^  d  .'^  """^^' 
thousand  fissures  an  .Vr^     i  snivered  into  twent>' 

crevice  so  l.^:::^^  :7  CZuZ'^'t  "'  " 
»t,one  extremity  alone  a  seanj.  '  ™passable  ;_ 

jheaaj„™-„,  ,:„,  a:;ro:r„r!cTrt:-r  ;'"•'■  • 

I«  «  true,  just  at  one  point  the  encirrH^r  I  ^^"°'- 

n..rro„  as  ,„  be  witbia"  .^e  t^^  ^  "Z'  '° 


VII.] 


THE  AL  TMtNG. 


63 


I,/ 


that  sleep  forty  feet  below,  you  can  conceive  there  wgs 
never  much  clanger  of  this  entrance  becoming  a  thorough- 
fare. I  confess  that  for  cfne  moment,  while  contemplating 
the  scene  of  Flosi's  exploit,  I  felt,— .like  a  true  Briton, — 
an  idiotic  desire  to  be  able  •  t6  say  that  I  had  done  the 
same  : — that  I  survive  to  write  this  letter  is  a  proof  of  my 
having  come  subsequently  to  my  senses. 


A. 

C. 


The  Althing.  B. 

The  place  where  Flosi  jumped         D. 


The  Hill  p£  Law.-;. 
Adjacent  Chasm. 


This  spot  then,  erected  by  nature  almost  into  a  fortress, 
the  founders  of  the  Icelandic  constitution  chose  for  the 
meetings  of  their  Thing,^  or  Parliament,  armed  guards  de- 
fendedj  the  entrance,  while  the  grave  bonders  deliberated 
in  security  within  :  to  this  day,  at  the  upper  end  of  the 

^  From  thing,  to  speak.     We  have  a  vestige  of  the  same  word  in 
Dingwall,  a  town  of  Ross-shire. 


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I"",' •-  <-«i-«^  .iir.c:^™'t  i^r^. " 

v«mUIhkI  rime  ur  their  ntmu  —iVi       .        ^"  '*"»"* 
wiu  iHiroduwd  «.  .arty  «  j    '^  -^  '^  »*'*'•''"«  »'^«»^ 


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VII.] 


4  »im4f%h  »  i«M, 


Itwnih  timmf  m»ny  wttH(«  nf  mprU  hiiv«  b«i»n  iirmlurtd 
rmiii  liMM  la  liHfw  b)^  kmliinitk  gnoim.  Ililllk«•^llr4^  Ml)* 
^  lot),  «titi  l%i|Mili<fV'«  bwn  tr«iiil«t«U  iitlu  ttM  iiiit(v«  imigtM  i 
iNi«  of  iti«  b«it  fwinrMl  ntwi|i«|)ffrt  t  havt  tvtr  Mtit  !•  ' 
HOW  r««l>lfi|»i>»l  Ht  HwykjrtvOi  j  nHil  Uw  (\»llt|#i  ttT  (^opcn- 
Ngfii  AiY'  «iMutiit>il  b)*  iDiuy  Alt  ttluitriuuii  kntUmtk  tclM)t> 
#1  iNit  tiMiibry  of  tiM  ttlii  it)i  11  dv)MriH  «ihI  tt  li 
t^uii  i  wM^  4fw}l«t«f  Mit^f  Igtiolittt  AiitiAlft,  *•  iHtll  mid 
mttt  MM  ituMr  itwH  UvA  pblMM,  thm  ihi>  i(u()»iii  Im»h«  tiwli 
iMttku^i  Ui^  glutliiut  ttrmitM  of  ic«i«iHrN  pnriy  hiii(9ry. 
At  t  fiiMtl  hiVhiimI  mi  Ut«  nUiitl,  UnMirtiHl  )»liiiii,  timl)iiield^  ^ 
to  «ih)  fro  «t<^  ilM  untrDdtlvii  gruM  ihut  now  dnihvd  tll»r.^ 

Ibi fivtit  wheif  Itiilt  kmw  aiiiI  eneigwiU'  will  niUHiunt^nNT, 
— «^«t  lh«  lii«4p(ii(ti»tl  1^1(11  I  law  iMforti  nie   vibi«  tha 

Vtty  MINO   lH«t  W  Oliii?  il^lm)  OIM  0(  th«  NNMtMICMtM- 

U{  HiMoHcttI  AiWlii  •¥!«  hniAftlMi  in  a  inibttc  MNwniyy. 

An  «n  MTi>un\  {»(  tlw  t)(ilMit«  to  which  t  «liiui«  him  bMn 
mrtfylly  prvMrviMt,  1  nmy  «•  w«ll  givis  y«tu  aii  ttbatract  of 
H.  A  more  eh«r<ict«rlitlc  !••(  oyi.of  th«  H«rllaiiient«rx 
AiiiMb  pi  lotUml  you  could  wArctty  luivt. 

In  tM  iummtr  of  ttM  ytAr  leoo,  whtii  Ethtlrtd  ih« 
UnrtAdy  rulpd  In  Kiiglftml,  urn)  fnurtpc^n  ywrtri*  lifltr  Hugh 
CA|Mt  hint  Kui-c^«(l«il  tht>  In»(  Ctiiiovliiglan  on  lh«  thmno 
of  i^rAiici,— tfib  It^lnndie  i«flAtAtur«  wa»  conv«n«il  for  tht 
MttAldtfttilon  of  A  v«ry  ImportAnt  rabjact-^no  ItAA  tmpo^ 
t*n(,  lnd««d,  (hun  mi  Inquiry  Into  thr  nierilt  i)f  a  ntw  rt* 
llgion  Imvly  brmtflu  inlo  the  country  by  certnln  tmlAAA 
rl«a  of  OiAf  Tryggveiion.—thf  Hmt  Chrintlitii  Iting  of  l|lor 
«n^,-Hind  iho  aania  who  putliNl  down  Londmi  brtdgt. 

TiM  AMtmbly  Mtt.    tin  NoriA  mtiilonAHtt  wtif  ^ 
eAltod  upon  to  •nuncUtv  to  the  Houte  tha  tvnetii  of  th« 
tAith  tbty  w«ri  oommiMion«d  to  di»clo;>e ;  and  Iho  debate 
ktfMi.    Onat  and  fbrca  waa  the  differmice  of  o|)inion. 
Hm  gooo  old  Teiy  party,  aupportml  ^  all  tlia  autborlty  of 


!,<«-.  iidK  tAi.     '    •(  ^»,-^, 


,    ^\^ 


y^ 


i 


AMi 


"*"  «f  lh«  Ujn,  Ami  rto,^,  |^  j, 


ftml^  itintAittt*  li»tw««l^  lli  waIIi^  ^Ai  iHh  ffHii  t>(  th«  fiiil 
tkf  WiMf N  MDivr  Ktr  «  M^Hiiviu  itt  ii\dirii,  Http,  brimmtiif 
tMol,  hiwiWNl  lit  hy  •  «iw||f  rtl  rw^wi  Wk«  > »« thia  piwi,  in 
«niei»iu  Mtit««,  All  wiHHiii  d)|iiv|t>)lttl  i)rWii)tliiil  tr(m««  wt tp  y 
(mmvHIitlMv  lAtipn  nmt  ilnrnV^I,    VViii'ht  mft  Mvm*  lu  hitvi«  ' 
bwn  Ihi* p(^(iit^iut  vvoitkiim* itM/ullcn  In  kinnit  fUyn,  ihruml^ 
Mit  tiM  ik^«Hil(n«vUit  cwiHrtfl    Kitr  a  bhK  p«rl«Mt  no  tliii' 
ffMt  WAAnt^lHKt  In  iu  |i^tf(^l\ian.    itM\n  hImMll,  m  «rto 
MprtKiily  lnUi,\w«ii  a  «r«4t,Ad^|it>Yn«l  AlwiAvft  (miml  hintMlf 
vwy  mmU  wiK««««hI  a1  i^*p  »i^  ni  luV  t*«rfnriiiAnr«  i 
w<iMi  l»Atl«  Wf  »H^ih<nk  thAl  |»prl»Atiij h* AilMilml in Plmirii 
Wology.    At  liMt  (^  Afiwni  tif  (?hH»Hiin(ly  Nirew  diMrmiit 
oM  IN   lifActivot   N»V»M  /  |iiinlAJim«nKi  wtf»  i(»n(}uni7fil 
AfAinM  All  who  imhilgfd /in  ii  i  aihI  in  >h«  \m\  i(«  myN 
ltH«A  livt.'Amtt  ihti  manoii^ly  o(  ti«  U)iltt«)dAra\ 

All  cHmittAlA,  mm  An^i  womtn,  mtv  tH«tl  ^y  Juriti  | 
imi  HiAt  tht  AcvuRvti  HaiI  ih«  ^wwvr  oi  cshAllv^f  ing  Ih* 
jurymtn  vwttAnni^llml  to  »ry  lh»m,  A^jWArA  rrom  th«  f^low. 
liir»KtrAiH  frtmi  ihn  Hnok  nf  Umn  t— ••  The  )»ifl|t«i«\ihrtil  ||0 
6m»  «>n  WA«l«lAy,  ^.  c,  HAiMnlAy,  And  mwiiniw  out  for  cNaI 
itiig««,  until  Ihe  iun  cimMii  nn  ThlnifVdllA  m\  ih«  l^rd'l- 
dty.^'    And  «|Alti,  "  Tlw  pamr  of  eh(Ui«nfflnff  aHaII  ^am 
«A  Aoon  AH  th<»  nun  ciw  hi*  no  lnn|«r  Hvtn  Abovt  lh«  wti^tlrn 
bi;ink  erf  Iht?  chARnt.  fnwn  ih«  Logherg." 
/  IHiming  Ailtlo  frow  whAt.  I  «Uw  nny,  war  tha  AotiM  ^ 
ilMny  An  (mrMKmlwl  trifvdy,  m  {)«Ac«tMim)  ifct  gor|«  oil 
♦Ha  Aim«nnA  tlJA,  tawArd»  tht  IaIia  t  muII  ttio^  AdvAntAgtX 
ol  the  oijportunUy  AgAin  lo  fAAminn  lit  mArvflllouA  eon* 
AtmctkMt.     The  |wr)K!niliiniiiir  waII*  of  riMk  rtm  on  tlthtr 
litttd  Irom  llM  fl^t  gmtniwAhl  thAt  cAirpAtml  Its  bottom, 
|N«lly  much  AA  tM  WAtrnn  of  tl  .  Rtd  aaa  muAt  hAvt  riitii 
on  tAch  NMt  of  th«  fUfitivA  iRrAelltttA,    A  Mam  of  l||^| 
•mote  th«  fAct  qf  oti»  clllT.  whllr  iIh»  oth«r  Uy  in  the  dtM* 
•At  aHmIow  j  tmt  on  the  ruggetl  lurlAce  of  VAch  might  Ami 
W  tmti  comiponding  ArtieuUtionis  thAt  on««  hA«t  devt 


<, 


M  «bn,.,z  in;  j»  'm  .""ii: "'  r'  r-'  '•"•  "-■ 
eh.™.,., ,.,  ,„y  o,„„,„  „,;  ^''^^j  «/.s  ;""••' 


r 


J 


«> 


. 

V 

1 

r- 

\_,          .      . 

■ 

.\' 

?^ 

i 

^f/^Pf^^.^-^^'^x'^-'^-iff-Tr^^^l^llf^rT'       '"'^ 


iiMHI»r  wUh  «  Mirtniiy  ihNt  wouki  ik»i  Imvt*  l^««i  lirtWnrfhy 
•f  «♦»•  tpoMt*  iif  M  Mw  rvMndm.    U  w««  nlfnoni  (niWiKliiil 
In  hwr  hiiH  f(«>»rrMttf  Hw  iMivHuUy  «(  hi*  )«y  wh»n  |i«rtii|Mi 
itflyii  Mm!  iiiffhiii  of  fm(il«|iii  Itilifini  w«ri*  ni  luti  r««pr<l»(( 
h\  iK^  <f)iirnver>'  of  im»«i»>  hliliertu  Hitkiutwii  llitlo  My  j  nihI 
|irSfrt«  •'ilh  wy  wh«»l»»  Iwnf  ih*tl.  *»  |wrilH«,  I  winlivil  him 
•UQeMilnhit  cuiMr,  •mflH«  Umo  ihtti  an  tt|Ui;h  cmtiK.li 
tnKmiR  i«lmr  mfritiM.    Phwm  my  Mliiiiion  us  ihi*  liwt  w- 
w«H.  Iitw»»vfr,  hi'  M>«»m»«l  nlmn«t  tn  «hrlnii,  ftnd,  wiih  « 
»iiiv«rU)'  it  WAii  iiHi^wiihlv  In  thtuttl.  itlMhiimv^  k*  Ifnnhlo 
p  fiwir  «  mtit(v«  M  ti  Ihlrat  r«M  f«m«.     UU  wmr  om*  0I 
Ihnut  cAlm  MborioMK  mhidi,  ncfiitiiit  fiMiiHl  UmI  itimiiig  ihit 
*IVut«Mlt   rnf%,  (h*ii^piir»ittiig  iluy  by  ilny  with  alngl** 
mimM  mvaimy  w»««  i|Hntnl  nli)i.i»— ||vi<  (ii  u  itiihif  obMni- 
rlly,  •nd  div  At  Um  contonl  with  th»«  mhwiiHmwun^of  hnv 
ing  »ddfd  one  oihcr  itnno  h»  thm  (fiwur  nt  ktinwlmiiiv  rnvn 
«rt  huildthg  w|)  towttrd  h»nv»n,  nv^ii  ihwigh  Jh/worUI 
•honhi  my«t  Hm>  whiit  Mtrong  iind  pjUlwni  httiida  hiiv* 
|>l«e«tt  it  then?, 

Th«  nt Kt  morning  wo  «liirt«d  for  th»  ()«y«itr*  1  ihit  limn 
dividing  ili«  bAggdgv  (ruin,  und  tending  on  th«  ^jook  in 

light  nmhhlng  onier.  with  thit  mmerlnlii  for  diiH^tr.  The 
weather  Rtill  rvni«iin<Hl  uncMidtid,  and  eiii:h  mile  w«  mI 
VAnoed  diitlpMtl  lunne  new  wttnder  in  4lie  iM«eArihly  land- 
•etfit,  A  thi*e  houre'  ride  brought  ua  to/  the  KAl>nii  Oja, 
the  eaatem  boundary  of  Tliintv4lli,A^  winding  up  Ita 
ruggmi  l«Ge,  we  took  our  tuat  look  t^r  the  lovely  plain 
beneelh  ua,  and  then  nmnfully  aet  f(^w«rd  acroaa  the  a«me 
htwi  of  ftHd  ieV«  plAtwu  m  thiv  which  we  had  already 
liwverietr  before  Arrtving  at  the  ^mAnrnt  0)«.  Hut  InateAd 
of  the  boundleaa  immenalty  which  hAd  then  ao  much  dli- 
heertened  ua,  the  proaent  proa|jcct  wnw  larmlntited  by  a 
twift  of  quAlnt  pArti-colored  hilb,  which  roae  liefora  ua  In 
M^  (AntAatk  ahApea  that  I  could  not  Mbe  my  ey<i  off 
I  d«i  not  know  whether  It  w«a  ilm  ttrong  oolite  or 


!pmi^f^^Si-&6^^^..^^^if^l^  . 


"^ 


'*f 


J  ... 


• «»»••  'N.  '^'^^mT^^x^^::.''^ 

^'-  "l-if.,  .ml  rt.,«..|  Ilk.  ,  l,„w*Z  t^^'Jtj'  ' 

^T„n:itr::i:rtt:r-"^ 
>  ....-I.I  h.v.' j;'':  hi";  'i''::^:::"^'""-  *  '*-"• 

••••I"*  •i.«ii.»  III.  wh.,  ,„,.„,  tTT  •" ""  ■»••  •««— 

I""-  rli, ,  but  h,v|,«  wluT. m™»«?  ull^""    '*  '" 

^^^        ^  l«m«  wht.  miffhi  iM  In  x\m  n•%MNl^ 

th.  furthr  Norn  of  l^ul!  "'^"^  »»'•*"*  •«dM<o«bllnt 

•»""•»  up  ««»,?»;  ,•»»» '""I""  "'  t^Mmi  . 


rvii 


Vlt4 


JlfOt/^fMMtM, 


n 


bnMilth  of  in»«ilow  Umi,  w«i«r«(t  by  i«hi  or  iHrM, 
Kvtf^  llMt  w«Mml,  «m<  iwt»tMi.  nihI  itoIM  hIhiMI,  UMt  biu« 
•trtwnu.  Hfhv  mill  ib»w,  whiiv  volumtt  o»  vufNir.  ihNi 
itMft<  ill  »(iHI«M  wrviithM  fmm  180  jNiuiiil,  bild  m(  ml0hly 
lAuiitniHii  M  wfirk  li«iit«iiib  lh«t  iiinfiii  nwl  vtrilmK  mriwii 
wbtl.  i*i««  tiivtry  lulled.  MHl  rtm  HimMNi  iMilNtml  HIIU,  ri- 
Itovtti  lb*  mtMH^<iny  i»f  tb«  ltv«l  lami,  nmr  inrrlvil  on  ih« 
fy«  to  wh»iv  ib»»  ibr#f  Kiiowy  fitiik*  frf  MiHini  HvilnnbotM 
«ulU  umI  cl««r  «||iUiul  ib»  iiliy, 

Of  >m»tm  it  w«ii  rAib^r  l«n4iib«lnK  »«»  P*m  »*»  «t*r  ihiii 
fMiKNi«  burtiing  miHint«ln  wiibmii  ^hvIiik  nn  tt)>(mrtuiUty 
«l  nwTinUnH  U  i  Ihii  th«>  »R|MN<ttliHi  wmM  hitv«  tAlian  lip 
iwi  mmh  Uhw.     Ill  «i|t|Miiiriim<«  flei-lii  (|i(f«rk  v«ry  littlt 
frqw  ibtf  iniiMmoriibht  iiib«r  volowiiH'  M\{%  with  which  Ih4 
^«tMi  i»  ■itMblttI,     liR  (Mitw  c!<inai«i«,of  «  pymmld  at  «tone 
Mil  •iwir.  lining  lu  |h»  h«i|hliir  NblMII  ttv*  ihoiiMtHilMU 
«iMi  w«l<1«(i  i«)K»tber  by  ItAittiii  »f  moittn  nmttflr  whiih 
b«v«  iMimi  fwwi  iiM  iiitlvt.    Kmmi  a.ii.  ie«H  to  i7«kS  tbtra 
Hfy«  bwHi  iwvitiy  thiM  •rufttiont,  ot^urrlng  ni  ini«rv«l» 
wbteh  Im¥«  v«riMi  in  dwrntioii  frmn  kIii  to  MV«nty-«tjt  ytari. 
Tb«  iNM  of  1 7611  WMN  rvmnrkiibly  violent.    It  eoiniMncfd 
on  iha  Jib  oT  A|w»l  by  tbo  NpiMrtrniK^u  of  a  hiiK«  |tift«r^ 
bl«ck  Mml  iiiottniinK  '•'"^ly  HMo  Uie  henven.,  ttt«imp«nltd 
by  Mibt«rr«n««n  tbumlvn.  nipiir  tb«  othft  iympiomi 
which  |ir«r««l«  vfiic«nic  ditturiicM.    Tb«n  «|^ronit  ol 
«•!»•  enciiTliKl  the  (?r«t«r ;  m«ftMt  of  rad  rock,  pumlof,- 
v»d  m««m»tio  itontt  wtr*  Muiik  out  with  trvmtndoun  vlo- 
N*M»  lo  Ml  incrwllblt  dUtitnc«,  and  in  •uch  continuous 
iMillttttdM  M 10  rtitmbi*  a  iiw«rm  of  bM»  ctiMit«r{ng  oftr 
Hi«  Mountain.    On*  boulH^  of  pumtct  •!«  ftct  In  cireuai* 
Ittwct  w«M  |)iicbe<l  tw«niy  mil**  away  |  inotbtr  of  m«|- 
*tl*c  iron  fvll  At  «  diiiAiM?*  of.  Aftttn.    JThe  *urf«c«  of  lh« 
•titli  mM  eo¥«r«i,  tor  «  et^it  of  on«  hundrvd  and  Wty 
»«••,  with  «  layer  of  und  four  Incboi  datp  j  tht  ttr  wm 
■9  dArk«n«d  by  it,  that  at  a  pi«c«  one  hundrtil  and  forty 


r 


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f 

t. 

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ia>    .Jati;  ', .  , 

■  ,    /  ■ 

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Ak.UiyEl.^<iLj\^»     . 


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rl 


ifiilM  «(f.  whiii.  iNt^pM.!  nil  «,  „  imi«,lU,«Va  rmihl  ii»t 
-  »N»  il»*il„gMUh.,|  fr„«ri,U>.     Th#ll.h..n»,*«  .hh.!,!  hoiihm 

OrkHty  UUm).  w»f«  rrt«h«#H«l  .mi  ^  ,m,  „^^.  j, 

llttflUinf  A|irll,ili«  I4vrt  hug,!!,  10  «>v»r«l.m,  •mlriiH  lot 
nvii  mitp.  In  «  «Mi»uh  WMi.rly  .KrtHl.m,  wh<*ni.  m^^  ^.w, 

mM.  (,MhUrt.Hr.ch«rlv*rt.   -.  v*.»  ..„S\«|  wig,,, 
MJ...  H«».f  M,m,l'.  i-euHa  «»,#.  iHH  «f  tiwUgh  inJ 
HM.I«r.,,HJ^r  io  th«.  I«l«h(  of  .rv..r*l  Imndr^W^M';  ih. 
Iirtrriir  .if  tit.  .^ci.,.?(«  Im,|h«  ^uriM^r  •iiHa.uhM  by  *«  »c 
««m,HH,lmim  o|  .iibt-rr*,,.*,.  c««Hm»«din«  «.h1  »»in,  w- 

»irlUim  A.  «||  thi.  mm  h4V«  Ihh»,,,  H  ,|nkr  inm  m«. 

.  1»««llV.  I«H,«,„«,  *n.l  liiMgHmniiMH,  ImM..  ih«  inrtnitvlv 

mor.  rtrrtW.  (»h.„».m«M,,  wlii.;h  «tienil««i  itio  .n,ttUa,»  of 

itimih«r  vfilii«(t«»,  i;«||«,)  m^jrtrt  j,^„|,  "^       *^ 

C|f,  iili  rrmnlri,.,  |„  Kumf*^,  U^|.„u|  t,  ,<»,  „„«  ^,^^ 
Him  lN»»nih«  iiiuii  minutely  mrtjuml,  Im  tvn  •K^Mitm 
lh«  .,nl«.uM«  iurv,,y  af  rr^|.„.|,  tIi«  ll^nW,  Ck,v«rnm«ni 
Mitm  1.1  iMvo  M  «  l,r,W,y  »|hh.i  U,  «nU  ih..  r«..,it  t,*,  Inwn 
«  «h*f t  IM.  h^milirully  «w«ultl,  ,h4l  .vry  llttb  cr.vte«, 
-.Hi.  mminl«l„.,o,r«,(r,««.  h  llgw  of  Uv«.^  hl.l  do#„  wl.h 
Nn  «.ri»r«cj,  ,Hirf«eily  ..•tonlnhlna.    Om  Uu^  b|.i„k.  how 

LIT"*  I  on*.  v..i.  ,,i«r«  »|«n«  of  *bout  four  hun. 

«  ^  fl.Wi  of  .now  «n.|  tey  rtdg...  no  hu«.„^foo,  1»m 
•v«r  w«n.l«r«|.    Y.rt  I,  U  fmm  th«*»KHom  of  IhU  d«Mft 

•nt  known  t^  Imv*  .l«ia.lrttff,i  iIm  jgUntl. 


"-"viir. 


^^    %, 


■V 


^IM 


JtA^rm  fMTUi. 


n 


_^  uniMwU  III  ihn  )i«iir  fyHj,     Thi.  pNiMtUnn 

wlwNr  •ml  ■|»tf«n  IimI  \wn  tiinuuiijly  ihU«I.    t'owtiril  iliu  wnil 
-f  t»r  Mny,  H  Hir»u  MiiUh  fiiK  IwifHtno  Hn.rtt  nlcmKitir  mmw* 
9$  fhi<  unihM'ltlniaMi  IN  uf'Ukiiiiht,  i|ifhni|r.nili.i|  liHlin  Ih* 
'fittHiiill  ^  JM««  Uv  rt  itff ill  tff mlillM^nf  ttiii  «tf nil.    t Hi  tli« 
•♦h  !»( ti^i  mitiMlt,  lmmiin«w  tillkra  uf^iitiitkw  PfiijMivd  nwr 
,    lh*!hll(  WMiiHfy  lowAftU  i)m  niirllv,  ^iiiiI  t!«Hiilitg  ttnwn  HfiilriM 
i     lh»  wiml  (II  rt  Mtinhprty  dlimiloii,  (^Hv^lfqMiil  Him  wM«  elU 
irk  t  of  m<t  I  lif*».irJiinii^    A  wlii^iwimt  nf  i««ttM  thin  ii#f pt 
wm  lh«  ti«»  i.f  rtif  ^wmry,  Aiiilnii  iHp  iqiIi,  liiitiitH»rifhiw 
^Urt  ■imuiK  w«iv  91*911 4fji|iiiig  itiiil  rtrtrlitg  niiilil  tH«  by  h«l 
lo^iW  thv  m.mi)«i<tlii,  wlilii*  ihi»  rlvi»r  Nlti|}t>t,  ttnit  of  ih« 
"  jAfuvti  hi  thi»  iitftnil,  NMvlitg  ^m  r»«ti|  dovyn  to  ili«  |HaIii 
a  v*»i  NttHimv  nf  fvlkl  wrtitw  nHiitd  wllli  Aiiiiit  mKtdvnly 

•|Ntt»  dayn  nfierwiirHii  «  M(r««iM  nf  Invn,  iMnliig  rrom 
Rnurc^n  to  whlih  iin  »««i  hijii  f>v«r  bvfii  «ii|l,«  (ft  ptnetriitv, 
e*wcj<ll.lliijt  iliiwii  ih»»  W«l  <if  tt)«  drhuf  iifi  tlvpf.  nml  In  « 
MMkllmo,-.|bt»*mli  ilu)  ^Iiaiiii»I  wii<i4U  diirulViti  t#«i  ii««t} 
•ml  iwiHiuiwIrwIbrw*.!.— ilW  glowing  ilujwu.  ovtrtlow^  h« 
b«wk».  ehMMiNl  till*  low  ^iiiury  of  MiMWrtHrtmj,  rlpiiing  ih« 
lurt  U|l  Morti  It  iX/ii  iiiUhi  elolli,  niiH  (miirvtl  Into  «  grot 
4«ke  wlia»u  •ffrigluVtl  wiri«rii  Hew  Muting  And  neromfiJM/ 
Into  Ui«  llr  At  Ihif  «|>ffiUdi  «i(  Ihn  fl«ry  Uiirudnr.     Wlihte 
« l«w  mort^  A*)',  d»»  buiiii  of  tHe  Uko  Itat U  wna  |}timpl«l«. 
ly  n^l•^l^tt•^l  lirt^iiB  wp«rimid  Into  iwo  atrviintM,  tha  unM- 
NMiiltNl  ti^rwnfengttUi  recommenrtd  itt  imircii  j  In  one  HI- 
fiKftlon  ovirHowliig  mmjhi  «nrl«nt  JrtVrt  fleidn,— In  thf  other 
tjii«t«ri«g  tK«  cliwiiwl  4if  tfc.  Wiiipt*,  wd  »«plH,d«i«^ 
^  lotty  c«taffet  oi  Sta|)<(feMf..    iJm  ih|.  wm  i^^t  «ll| 
whH«  on«  Uva  fWl  hftt;  tJio^]tlie  tkapta  (or  lt«  bml. 

_  ltti«i&ln  ^'M»<^y«^*|l%A»l«  iho  iki.of  the  Hvir 
.  Miot,  ruM^rngLlhto  Wp|^,^by^»ll  iicc^ntiirwith  •vtn'^ 
jV^^^jy  a^  vtloBtiy:    Wli«th*r  ih«  \^  iMiK^d  from 


* 


^ 


■u- 


■^m^-''- 


If  ti 


■'  I 


■t*^' 


I  . 


^^•^v 


. ./ 


74  LMT^Mi  mOMfMtOM  LA  rrrt/DMS,        [VI I . 

Um  mom  cfAttr  it  it  impoitibtfl  to  My,  m  the  loiifcti  oi 
both  were  fi^  away  wiiliin  tlie  iictrt  of  tiie  unapprotdK 
•bte  cIcMCii^and  even  tbe  extent  of  lava  Mow  can  only 
be  itt«««ured  from  the  »pot  ,w>ere  it  entered  the  inliabitad 
diftikti.  The  atream  which  flowed  down  Bkapia  it  calcu- 
liited  to  be  about  fifty  miiea  in  length  by  twelve  or  ftfteen 
at  ill  greatest  breadth ;  that  which  rc>tleddown  the  Hver- 
flafliot,  at  forty  mitea  In  length  by  seven  in  breadth. 
Wbareit  was  imprisonedi  between  the  high  banks  of  Skaptsiy 
Um  lava  ia  Ave  or  six  hundred  feet  thick  ;  but  as  soon  as  it 
spread  out  into  the  plain^^  depth  nei^  excelled  one  hun* 
dried  feet.  The  ohiptkm  of  sand,  ashes,^pttfflice,  and  lava,* 
continued  till  the  end  of  August,  when  the  Plutonic  drama 
^ach^ed  with  a  violent  earthquake.    . 

For  a  whde  year  a  canopy  of  cinderladan  cloud  hung 
«vtr  the  island.  Sand  and  ashes  irretrievably  overwhelmed 
thousands  of  acres  of  fertile  pasturage.  The  Faroe  islands, 
the  ShetUnds,  antdthi^  Orkneys  were  deluged  with  volcanic 
dust,  which  perceptibly  contaminated  <ven  the  pure  sUat 
ol^£i^and  and'  llolland.  M«]riiitic  vapors  tainted  the 
atmosphere  of  tl|^  entire  island ;— even  the  grass,  which  no 
cinder  rain  hfd^  stifled,  completiely  withered  up  ^— the  fish 
perished  in  the  pcrfsoned  sea.  A  murrain  broke  out  among 
the  cattle«  and  adiaease  resembling  scurvy  attacked  tbe  in* 
habitants  themselves.  Stephenson  has  calculated  that  9000 
men,  a8,ooo  horses,  i  i,oo>o  cattle,  190,000  sheep,  died  from 
the  effects  of  this  one  eriipti<m.  The  most  moderate  cal* 
culation  puts  the  nun^bwhef  human  deaths  at  upwards  fli 
1300 ;  and  of  cattle,  #t&,  at  about  156,000. 

The  u4iole  of  diis  century  had  proved  moat^md  to  the 

•  tmlortunate  pe<^e  of    Iceland.    At  its  commencement 

emall^x  destroyed  more  than  t6,ooo  persons;  neariy 

soiq^mQre  perished  by  a  famine  consequent  on  a  succea* 

of  inclement  seasons ;  while  from  tioM  to  time  4%e 


m 


Cm. 


~~    ^X 


^Ii.j  I   III  i^l^^k     Tl-     II  iNi|||^9i*«MJ 


TA  ' 


I     . 


Vll.] 


TMM  OMYSi/tS. 


ft 


■outiMrn  coMts  ware  contldcrably  cl«popMUttd  by  the  in. 
MrtkMM  of  EoflUli  Md  tvcn  Algtrine  pir«tM. 

TIm  fMt  of  wir  day's  JourtMy  lit^  thitM«h  •  country 
km  interetting  thui  the  dUtrict  we  had  trmvcntd  btfora 
luncheon.     For  the  most  partly  kep^  on  along  the  foot  o( 
the  hilla,  stopping  now  and  then  for  a  drink  of  miUc  at  the 
occaaional  farms  perched  upon  their  tlopea.    Sometimes 
turning  up  a  green  and  even  bushy  |i«n(f|Mre  «ie  n»  trees 
In  Iceland,  the  nearest  approach  to  anylB^  of  the  kind 
being  a  low  dwarf  birch,  hardly  worthy  oTSdng  called  a 
siirubX  we  would  cut  serosa  the  shoulder  of  some  project- 
ing spur,  and  obtain  a  wider  prospect  of  the  level  land 
upon  our  right ;  or  else  keeping  more  down  in  the  flat,  we 
hnd  to  flounder  for  half  an  hour  up  to  the  horses'  shoulders 
In  an  Irish  bog.    After  about  five  hours  of  this  w^rk  we 
rewAed  the  banks  of  a  broad  and  rather  singular  river, 
called  the  BrdarA.    Half^  across  h  was  perfectly  fbrda- 
ble ;  but  exactly  in  the  middle  was  •  deep  cleft,  into  which 
the  waters  from  either  side  spilt  ificmfelves,  and  then  in  a 
collected  volume  roared  over  a  precipice  a  little  lower 
*»»«.    Across  this  cleft  some  wooden  planks  were  thrown, 
giving  the  traveller  an  opportunity  oC  boasting  that  he  had 
crossed  a  river  on  a  bridge  whfeh  itself  wis  under  water 
By  this  time  we  bad  all  begun  to  be  very  tired,  and  ver^ 
bwgry  i-it  was  II  o'clock  r.M.    We  had  been  twelve  or 
thirteen  houra  on  horseback,  not  to  mention  occasion^ 
half.hours  of  pretty  severe  wnlking  after  the  ptarmigan  and 
plover,    liany  were  the  quesUons  we  addresaed  to  Sigurdr 
on  the  distance  yet  remaining,  and  many  the  conjectures 
we  kaaarded  as  to  whether  the  cook  would  have  arrived  in 
^  to  get  dinner  ready  for  us.    At  list,  after  anothLr  two 
hours'  weary  jogging,  we  deacried,  straight  in  frontTa  low 
•t^  brown  rugged  hill,  standing  entirely  detached  fro« 
the  range  at  the  foot  of  which  we  had  been  riding;  and  in 


ii 


[f 


\  y 


?•  LMTTRMSmOM  mOM  LATIfVDKS.  [VH. 

t  Urn  mintitM  More,  wtMclinff  round  Ito  outer  tnd,  w« 
fouml  ounivtve)!  iti  ihe  prenence  of  the  ttaMiting  Geytin. 

I  do  hot  knnw  tint  I  c«ii  give  you  a  better  notbn  of  the 
•ppearatice  of  the  place  than  by  Mying  that  it  looked  aa  If 
-for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile-^he  ground  had  been 
lioney<ombed  by  diaeaae  into  numeroua  lorea  and  oriftcM  ; 
not  a  hiailc  of  graaii  grew  on  its  hot,  inHanied  aurfice, 
which  cunainted  of  unwfwIeaomelooWnf  red  livid  clay,  or 
crumpled  shreds  or  shards  of  sioMgh-iike  incHistationa. 
Naturally  enough,  our  first  impulse  (>n  difmounting  was  to 
•camper  ofT  at  once  to  the  Onnt  Oeytin  As  it  hiy  at  the 
furthest  end  of  the  coqgeries  of  hot  springs,  in  order  to 
reach  it  we  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  all  the  pools  of  boil- 
ing wfter  and  scalding  quagmires  of  soft^lay  that  inter- 
vened, and  consequently  arHved  on  the  spot  with  our  an- 
kles ni<ely  poulticed.  But  the  occaaion  Jtistified  cnir  eager- 
ness. A  smiKjth,  siliclouJ  basin,  seventy  two  feet  in  diam- 
eter and  four  feet  deep,  with  a  hofc  at  the  bottom  as  in  a 
washing-basin  on  board  a  st^tomer,  stood  before  us  brimful 

of  wster  iitar  •••»«•>  *k^  ..i L<i  ... 


Of  fmx  just  upon  the  simmer ;  while  up  into  the  air  above 


A.    Bsdin.  B    fWnntl. 

our  heads  rooe  a  great  column  of  vapor,  looking  as  if  it 
was  going  to  turn  into  the  Fisherman's  Genie'  The  ground 
•bout  the  brim  was  composed  of  layers  of  incrustated  siU- 
co^  like  the  outaide  of  an  oyster,  sloping  gently  down  on 
•II  sidto  from  the  edge  of  the  basin. 


£'i^i:^J^..^St!£k^iljtiuL-s£4 


>\'  f 


;:--^- 


«» 


(•  '•• 


VII,} 


rifM  GMi^/ltS. 


n 


Havinij  MtinAed  our  euriotity  with  Uib  atnoty  iiii|Mo- 
tion  of  wiMt  wc  had  com*  lo  far  to  Mt,  hungtr  compeHcd 
IM  to  look  About  with  grvat  anxitty  for  the  oook ;  and  you 
mayfttnc)|our  delight  at  iMing  that  funcilonary  in  Iht 
vary  actdf  dishing  up  dinrtar  on  a  neighl>oring  hillock. 
Stnt  forWard  at  an  Oarjy  hour,  undtr  the  chaperonage  of  a 
guide,  hV  had  arrived  about  two  hours  before  ur,  and  §•!•' 
Ing  with  a  general's  eye  the  key  of  the  position,  at  once 
turned  an  idle,  babbling  little  Ocyiiir  into  n  cnmp  kettle, 
dug  a  bakehouse  in  the  hot  soft  clay,  and  improvising  a 
kitchen-range  at  a  neighboring  yent,  had  made  himself 
completely  master  of  the  simation.  It  was  about  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning  when  we  sat  down  to  dinner,  and 
as  light  OS  day. 

As  the  baggage-train  with  our  tents  and^>eds  had  not 
ytt  arrived,  we  fttUy  appreciated  our  luck  in  being  treated 
to  so  dry  a  night ;  And  having  eate,n  everything  we  could 
lay  hands  on,  were  sat  quietly  dowh  to  chess,  and  cofltee 
brewed  in  Geysir  water ;  when  suddenly  it  seemed  as  if  be- 
neath our  very  feet  a  quantity  of  wibterraneous  cannon 
were  going  of! ;  the  whole  earth  shook,  and  Sigurdr,  start- 
ing to  his  feet,  upset  the  chessboard  (I  was  just  beginning 
tofMthe  bestof  the  game),  and  flung  olT  full  speed  towaitls 
AogrMt  basin.     By  the  time  we  reached  its  brim,  however, 
the  noise  had  ceased,  and  all  we  coiild  see  was  a  slight 
movementjn  the  centre,  as  if  an  angel  had  pasatd  by  and 
trouWed  the  water.    Irritated  at  this  false  alarm,  we  deter- 
'  irfned  to  revenge  ourselves  by  going  and  tormenthg  the 
Sttokr^   Strokr-orMr  «l«#w— ^  must  know,  U  an  un- 
fortunate Geysir,  with  so  little  command  over  his  temper 
and  his  stonfkch,  that  you  cwi  get  a  mr  out  of  him  when- 
•w  you  like.    All  that  is  necessary  is  to  collect  a  quantity 
of  aods,  and  throw  them  down  his  funnel.    As  he  has  no 
b^to  protect  him  from  these  liberties,  you  can  approach 
to  the  vtiy  edge  of  the  pipe,  rfK>ut  five  Iwt  in  diameter, 


il^MlMiiiii^  ;&i$.i;r ', 


.is.-,..5i\^: 


.  I 


r 

1 , 

utmiMfi  jt^osf  ttiotf  iAr/7vnM& 


\yiL 


^  rook  down  „  th.  bolHng  w.l.*r  which  i.  p.rJti«||y 
•««W«f.tUi.  bottom.  la.l.wml««f.u..Clnirf 
you  have  ju.t  .dmlnJittrwl  begin,  to  A\umm  with  hl«^ 

Ae^qualm.  of  Incipient  .Ickne..,  he  grotni  and  hi  JJS 

Into  the  .ir  •  colwnn  of  water  forty  feet  hirii.  whw/!!f 

MtMt^  hw  ,he  poor  thing',  .lomwh  becoTbX  ^ 
cipline  It  1^  undergone,  th.t  erw.  teagW^l  SLl^^ 

^^ll^lu\:iTl'  «h.«.ted,  when/eobbinS 
Fut^to  highjipirit.  by  the  .ucce..  of  thi.  perforZc. 

a^^uIm    1  ^       rwttnble  in  ch«racter  the  two  I  hev* 
PM»«l  unnoticed.    Imagine  a  ierse  irremlar  ooMln.  u    - 

"J^  ^Hrvr^ " « *.r ««.  Ml,  oi  ,h. 

pww  lapii  luull-nd  ao  iMn  WMMdilwcnat  that  rooM 

lit.  ail  into  the  fearful  beautiful  bath 

Pri«ic*p.l  feature,  of  «ir  n«r  domain,  I  wr«pp«|  myaoll  .p 


J--*f,*4l'»   **►*;!     . 


■s;- 


■-*-ti."i-^;;-)f~^p 


VII.J 


TUM  G£yS/MS. 


•t 


to  ft  cloftk  and  wtnt  io  tlctp  i  leaving  ordcn  that  I  ■hould 
Mt  ha  eftlicd  until  afttr  riw  t«nt  had  arrived,  and  our  bada 
ware  raac^y.  Stgurdr  followed  my  aiaiiipIi,^ttlM'  Doctor 
want  oMt  ahooting. 

Aa  our  principal  object  in  coming  to  f ar  waa  to  aaa  an 

aruption  of  the  Oreat  Oeyair,  it  waa  of  courae  necaaaary  «a 

ahottid  .wait  hit  pleaaure ;  In  tact,  bur  movamenta  antiraty 

depended  upon  his.    For  the  next  two  or  three  daya,  theiw* 

I  fore,  like  pilgrims  round  some  ancient  shrine,  we  patiently 

I  ktpt  mitch ;  but  he  scarcely  deigned  to  vouchsafe  us  the 

\«Uglittat  maniiaatations  of  his  latent  energieR.    Two  or 

idiree  times  the  cannonading  w«  had  heard  immediately 

Idfter  our  arrival  nscommencad, — and  once  an  eruption  to 

^he  height  of  about  ten  feet  occurred ;  but  so  brief  waa  ita 

duration,  that  by  thte  lime  we  were  on  the  spot,  althoi^h 

the  tmt  waa  not  eighty  yards  diatant»  all  Waa  over.    Aa 

after  every  effort  of  the  fountain  the  water  in  the  baain 

ir/steriously  ebbs  bfick  into  the  funnel,  this  pertormance, 

tnough  unsatisfactory  in  itself,  gave  us  an  opportunity  of 

approaching  the  mouth  of  the  pipe,  and  looking  down  into 

lis  scalded  gullet    In  an  hour  alterwalda,  the  basin  waa 

brimful  as  ever. 

TetlMred  down  by  our  curiosity  to  a  particular  spot  Ibr 
an  iiMiefihite  period,  tws  had  to  while  awjiy  the  hours  aa  beat 
we  ^oiik).  We  played  c^eaa,  collected  apecimena,  photo* 
r«phed  the  encampa^t,  the  guidea,  the  poniea,  and  one  or 
two  astonished  han^s.  Every  now  and  then  we  went  out 
•hooting  over  the  iieighborinK  flats,  and  once  I  ventured 
on  a  kMger  expet^tion  among  the  mountains  to  our  left. 
The  viewa  I  got  ^  beautiful,^ridge  riaing  beyond  rid%e 
In  eternal  ailenc^  like  gigantic  ocean  wavea,  whoee  tumult 
has  been  sudckbly  froien  into  stone ,— but  the  dread  of  the 
Oeysir  going  >ff  during  my  absence  made  me  almost  too 
fidgety  to  enjoy  them.  The  weather  luckily  remained  btail 
tiH  with  the  exception  of  one  little  apell  el  ndn.  wkieh 

6 


■' 


mM^,t^^A 


r! 


4. 


••  LMrrKKH  FMOM  UiGH  L4 TtWi^RS  [VII 

(•me  to  make  ui  all  ihv  more  grateful  for  the  ■uiuiliiiM,^ 
and  w«  fad  like  princes,  (ndcpendi  ntly  of  the  game,  duck, 
plover,  purmtgan,  and  Wttern,  with  which  our  own  gum 
Nuppiied  u*.  a  young  Inmb  was  always  In  the  Urder.^not  to 
mention  reindeer  tongues,  nkier,— •  Und  of  lour  curda, 
excellent  when  well  mttdc,— milk,  cheese. whoet  taate  and 
nature  bafHes  description,  biscuit  and  bread,  aent  us  as  a 
frte  gift  by  the  lady  of  the  neighboring  farm.  In  fact,  so 
noble  is  keUodichoipittHty,  that  I  really  believe  then  was 
nothing  within  fifty  miles  round  we  might  not  have  obtained 
lor  the  asking,  bad  we  denired  It.  As  for  FIti,  he  became 
quite  the  «»/»«/ ^/rf  of  .incighboring  family. 

having  unluckily  c.iught  cold,  instead  of  sleeping  in  the 
tent,  he  detcrmUicd  to  se#k  thelter  under  a  solid  rooltwe, 
and,  conducted  by  our  guide  Olaf,  set  off  on,  his  pony  at 
bedtime  in  search  of  a  habitation.  The  nesft  morning  he 
reappeared  so  unusually  radiant  that  I  coiild  not  help  in- 
quiring  what  good  fortune  had  in  the. meantime  befallen 
him :  upon  which  he  gave  me  such  an  account  of  his  last 
night's  reception  at  the  farm,  that  I  waa  almoat  tempted 
to  bundh!  tent  and  beds  down  the  throat  of  our  irritable 
friend  Strokr,  and  throw  myself  for  the  futi^  upon  the 
hospitality  of  the  inhabitants.  It  is  true,  I  had' read  in  Van 
TrolT  of  something  of  the  kind,  but  until  now  I  never  fully 
believcfd  it.    Tl«;  Doctor  shall  tell  his  own  story. 

"No  sooner,"  said  he,  "had  I  presented  myself  at  the 
doQr^and  made  known  my  errand^  than  I  was  immediately 
welcomed  by  the  whole  family,  and  triumphantly  inducted 
into  the  guest  quarters  :  everything  the  house  could  produce 
waa  set  before  mc,  and  the  whole  society  stood  by  to  see 
tliat  lanjoyed  myself.  A»  I  had  but  just  dined  an  addi- 
tional repaat  «aa  no  longer  essential  to  my  happiness ;  but 
all  explaiiaMort  was  useless,  and  I  did  my  beat  to  give  them 
fattafactionj.  Immediati'ly  on  rising  from  the  tabic,  the 
y^mlg  lady 'of  the  houae-^old  Van  Trail  says  it  is  eitlMf 


t  -^ 


VILJ 


THR  GKYStMS. 


•j 


tiM  moth«r  or  the  d«tt|httr  of  the  hounc.  if  the  be  g^wn 
up,  who  pefformt  this  offir«).^ropoMd  by  «ifnt  taoonduet 
me  to  my  Apartment ;  taking  in  one  hand  a  la^  plate  ol 
»kier,  and  in  the  other  a  bottle  i.f  brandy,  the  led  the  wty 
through  a  paaaqr  built  of  turf  and  itoiies  to  the  plac* 
Wiw  I  WM  to  slWp.     Having  watched  her  depotit— not 
without  miigivingi,  for  I  knew  It  waa  expected  both  should 
b«}  di»»>o«cd  of  before  morning— the  skier  by  my  bedside 
and  the  brandy  bottle  under  my  pillow,  I  was  preparing  to 
iMke  her  «  polite  bow,  and  to  wish  her  a  very  good  night, 
wten  she  advanced  towa^s  me,  and  with  a  winning  grace 
dllRcitlt  to  resist,  insistetl  upon  helping  me  oil  with  my  coat 
and  then,— proceeding  to  extremities,— with  my  shoes  iMkI 
stockings.    At  ihis  mottt  cHtical  part  of  the  proceedings,  I 
naturaUy  Imagined  her  share  of  the  performance  would 
conclude,  and  that  I  should  at  last  be  res^rwl  to  that  pri- 
yacy  which  at  such  seasons  is  genemlty  donsliered  appio- 
priate.    Not  a  bit  of  It.     Before  I   knew  where  I  was,  1 
found  myself  sitting  In  a  chair.  In  my  shirt,  trouserless.  while 
my  fair  tire-woman  was  engaged  In  neatly  folding  up  the 
rnvWied  garments  6n^a  neighboHng  chair.    She  thm^in 
the  most  simple  manner  In  the  world,  helped  me  IntdbMl, 
tucked  me  up,  and  having  said  a  quaniity  of  pretty  things  liI 
^Jceliadic,  gave  me  a  hearty  kiss  and  departed,    ff,"  he 
addMl,  -you  see  anything  remarkable  in  my  appearanoe.  it 
Is  probably  because—  ■        ^^ 

•This  very  mom  rvt  Celt  the  iwett  surprise 
Of  WMqMcted  lips  on  sealed  eyes  t ' 

^  which  he  poetically  Intimated  the  pleaaiiig  ceremony  v 
which  had  awaked  him  to  the  duties  of  the  day.    I  think  it 
needless  to  subjoin  that  the  Doctor's  cord  did  not  get  better  • 
«•  lon|  M  we  remained  In  the  neighborhood,  and  that; 
hwl  It  not  been  for  the  dally  increasing  Are  of  his  looks, 


\:£tt^Md^i/iftix  .dtilV^^     il  J' 


T.hWS^., 


^ 


( 


IXrrg/tS  FKOM  HIQN  LAnrUDMS. 


[VII. 


I  •houltt  htive  bcgnn  to  b«  •lamMd  at  to  protracMd  an 
(ndUpnnitinn. 

Wu  hitft  how  be«n  kecfiinf  witrh  (or  ihrco  d«yt  ovtr  the 
0«jr«ir,  b  tangulil  axpectatlon  of  the  eruption  which  «ru  to 
Mt  iM  (fM.  All  the  moming  of  the  foarth  dty  I  had  been 
pl«yin|{  cheuM  with  Hlgurdr  ;  PttifBcald  Witu  |)hotu({rephliig, 
WUvQn  woji  in  the  act  u(  announchig  luncheon,  wtMn  a  cry 
from  the  guictoe  made  ut  ttart  to  our  feet,  and  with  one 
common  impulae  ru«h  towartU  ihe  baain.  ^^'he  uwaioHib' 
lerraneiin  thunden  had  already  coirmvnce<l.  A  violent 
agitation  was  di|lurbin{{  ihr  centtt*  of  the  tmni.  Suddenly 
a  dome  of  water  lifted  itaelf  up  to  the  hei|(ht  of  eight  or  ten 
feet,— 4hen  bunt,  and  feli ;  iil^piedlately  after  which  a  ahinrng 
liquid  column,  or  rather  a  diieaf  of*  eohtmna  wreathed  in 
relies  of  vapoc,  Mprun;  into  tha  air,  an*l  in  a  »uccr:t«4lon  of" 
Jerking  leapt,  each  higher  than  the  lant,  flung  their  ailver 
oreatii  againat  thti  aky.  For  a  few  mtnuiey  Uie  fountain  held 
Itaown,  then  all  at  once  appeared  t&losi!  Its  aocending  energy 
The*unatabl«  waters  faltered,  ^drooped,  fell,  "  like  a  broken 
mirpSNM,"  back  upon  themielvea,  nnd  were  immediately 
■licked  down  into  the  reccftucii  of  their  pipe. 

The  apcictacle  wa«  certainly  magnificent ;  but  nodeecrip- 
tkm  can  give  any  idea  of  ita  moat  atriking  featurea.  The 
enormous  wealth  of  water,  its  vitality,  its  hidden  power.— 
the  illimitable  breadth  of  sunlit  vapor,  rolling  out  in  ex- 
haustless  profusion. — nil  combii|^  jio  make  one  feel  the 
itupendoua  energy  of  nature's  slightest  movements. 

And  yet  I  do  not  believt;  the  exhibition  was  so  fine  «i 
■ome  .that  have  been  seen  :  from  the  first  burst  upwards  to 
the  moment  the  last  jet  rctrc.ited  Into  the  pipe,  was  no  more 
than  a  space  pf  seven  or  eight  minutes,  and  at  no  moment 
^  the  crown  of  the  column  reach  higher^  than  sixty  or 
Mventy  leet  above;  the  surface  of  the  basin.  Now,  early 
travellers  talk  of  three  hundred  feet,  which  mu^t,  of  courae 
be  fabulous ;  but  many  trustworthy  persons  have  judged 


(K. 


■•¥• 


[f- 


nij 


rUM  OMYSMS. 


"5 


lk«  tniptiona  at  two  hundred  fctt,  while  wtll-authcntlcatMi 
accoMiil*— when  the  elevation  of  the  jet  hM  been  eciiMlly 
iMMiired  make  it  lo  hAve  etuUnod  a  height  u(  upwardi  of 
one  hundred  feet. 

With  regMd  lo  the  intemtif  machinery  by  which  theM 
waterworks  ere  eet  in  n^ion,  I  will  mAy  My  that  the  moat 
receivefl  theory  aeemii  to  be  that  which  luppoeea  the  exiat- 
tnce  of  a  chamber  in  thi*  heatvd  tMrth,  almost,  but  nut  qiUte 
wW  with  water,  and  communicating  with  the  upfwr  air  by 
meana  of  a  pi|}e,  whoM  lower  oriAce,  inatead  of  b«in|{  in  the 
roof,  in  at  the  aide  of  the  cavern,  and  Mtm  the  surface  of 
the  subterranean  poml.   The  wtfter.  kept  by  the  surrounding 
furnaces  at  boilinK  point,  generates  ol  course  a  continuous 
supply  oliteani,  for  which  some  vent  must  be  obtained;  as 
it  cannot  escape  by  the  funnel,-.^e  lower  mouth  of  which 
is  under  water.— It  S€|iieeies  itself  up  withhi  the  arching  roof 
until  at  last,  comprc»se«l  beyond  al"  emlurance.  ii  Mrains 
•gatnai  the  rock,  and  pushing  down  the  intervening  waters 
with  its  broad,  atrong  Uck,  forces  them  below  the  level  of 
the  funnel,  and  diapersing  |Mm,  «tid  driving  part  before  it, 
rushes  forth  in  triumph  to  the  upper  afr.     Vhs  fountains, 
therefore,  that  we  sec  mounting  to  the  sky  during  an  crUption 
•re  nothing  but  the  auperincumbciit  masn  of  waters  in  the 
pipe  driwn  up  in  confusion  before  the  steam  at  the  mo* 
ment  it  obUlns  its  liberation.' 

t .  V'**'"""*^*"^"  "^  ••*••'  •n«»«»««ncttl  a  chtmioil  tiMory.  which 
IWIeve  hatftttn  rec«Jved  w'h  favor  by  the  Kitntlflc  world  He 
^i^JrjjT  -  »»»»'»•»•'•  •*•«»  •*'"«  l«i«  iubJMted  to  htst.  Toms 
*— n  ef  tM  air  contsined  in  IL  h»«  ih«  cohesion  of  lu  molcculM  much 
wed,  and  require*  a  hiffhcr  lmi|wni<ure  to  bring  it  to  ball  i  at 
I  atoin«nt  the  production  q{  vapor  become*  to  great,  and  no  in- 
atMtaneoea.  as  to  caeae  e«plo*ion.  The  Iwrtling  of  furnaec  U.ii,r8 
to  often  a«r.l»MUblc  to  thi.  cau«j.  Now.  the  water  at  the  h.^ilom  of 
the  well  of  the  (;rea»  (Jeyirfr  la  found  to  be  of  conitantly  Increttleg 
[wvmtewup  to iIm  nMimtnl of  an  eruption.  wHen  on  one  occasion 
ttwasesUihaBS«t*PahrMlwtl.    Profesaor  Bunsen's  idea  is  that  ea 


"-  "-.^  - 


1  "  j 


M  LKTTMttS  ItibM  mOM  ^TtTVDlU  [VII., 

The  •ccompanykift  tkctch  may  |MrluifM  Mp  y«u  hT 
umtoraMiMi  my  iMoning. 


Thtli^t  Irulp  of  wftttr  h«l  diMppcarod  down  ih«  M- 
n«l.  W*  wtfre  Mantiinx  at  the  bottom  oT  the  now  tmpty 
basin, 'gating  Into  eac;h  oihern  facen  with  joyous  antoniili- 
mani,  when  iiudilenly  wc  perceived  a  horwman  come  (ran> 
tteally  galloping  rouml  the  baae  of  the  neighboring  hil  to- 
warda  us.  The  state  of  the  case  was  only  too  evident.  H« 
had  seen  the  masses  of  vapor  rising  round  the  fountain, 
and  guessing  -what  was  */,'•  had  strained  every  nerve  to 
arrive  in  time.  As  the're  was  no  mutual  friend  presrnt  lo 
introduce  us  to  each  other,-H>f  course  under  ordinary  ar- 
cumstances  I  should  have^rappMl  myself  iik  that^raaarve 
which  is  the  birthright  of  every  Briton,  and  pretended 
naver  even  to  have  notKW  his  arri^ral ;  but  the  sight  we 
had  Just  aaert  bad  Uptite  upset  my  nerves,— and  I  confess, 
with  shamt,  that  I  so  far  compromiaad  myself,  aa  to  mau- 


rsschloi  M«M  ttAknown  point  siiovs  thst 
piscs.  vapar  is  MMkknlr  fMsrslMl  in  ••«,,., 
\Sm  of  tkt  Mipsrior  colimin  of  watsrisllw 


ttMlHtlonl 
i|u«nlUy.Md«t«rttp> 


4' 


\v 


▼II.]  MOSriTAglM  H^AMATtONS, 


•  ooAvtrMikm  with  the  stnuigcr.  In  MttntMiioa 
•f  wj  conduct,  (  mutt  Im  iilbwwi  to  mM.  that  the  n«w- 
cowtr  wat  not  •  fiilow<€o(tntr)rmafr,  hut  of  th«  Prvnch 
tonfu«,  and  oC  th«  navat  profvMion. 

Occupying  I  Sen  4he  door  of  my  tent— by  way  of  van- 
lagt  ground,  a«  aoon  a*  the  iitriingcr  wan  come  within 
•anhot.  I IHM  up  my  voice,  and  cried  in  a  aiyle  of  Ara- 
bian familiarity,  *•  O  thou  that  ridett  ao  furioualy,— wtary 
uid  ditappoinied  one,— turn  in,  I  pray  thee,  into  the  tent 
of  thy  eervant,  aitd  eat  bread,  and  drinic  wine,  that  thy 
aoiri  Mty  b«  comforted. "  To  which  he  answered  and  *«id, 
"Maw,  4wil<r  in  aulphureoui  place*,— I  will  not  eat 
bread,  nor  drink  wine,,  neither  will  I  enter  into  thy  tent, 
until  I  have  measured  out  a  retting-place  for  my  I^d  the 
Prince, 

At  this  hitcrrsiing  moment  our  acquaintance  waa  inter- 
rupted by  the  appearance  of  two  other  horsemen—the  one 
a  painter,  the  other-aR«'ologist— attached  to  the  expedition 
ol.  Prince  Na|)oicom  They  infc^rmcd  us  that  Hin  Imperial 
Highneas  had  reached  Reyliji^vik  two  day*  after  we  had 
left,  that  he  had  encamped  lait  night  at  Thingi'alla,  and 
might  be  eifpected  here  in  about  four  houra  :  they  th«m- 
aeivea  having  come,  on  In  advance  to  prepare  f^r  his  ar- 
rival. My  firtt  care  #aji  to  order  coffee  fo^  the  J|jred 
Frenchmen  ;  and  then— feeling  that  long  residence  having 
given  lit  a  kind  of  proprietorahip  in  the  Geyaira,  we  were 
bound  to  do  the  honora  of  the  plac«  to  the  approach- 
ing band  ctf  tqiyellen,— I  aummoned  the  cook  ami  en- 
larging tn  a  long  speech  on  the  gravity  of  the  oc«siaion, 
gave  orden  that  he  alMMild  make  a  hol9cattH.^of  aU  th« 
remaining  game,  and  g«t  under  way  a  plum-pudding, 
whoae  dimenaiona  should  do  himself  and  England  credit. 
A  iMg  table  having  been  erected  within  the  tent,  Sigurdr 
Malted  on  a  plundering  expedition  to  the  neighboring 
fatfm,  fitxgerald  undertook  the  ordering  of   the  feaat, 


t . 


( 


-■        _,.«iSi....>.  „ 


^  ■ 


\« 


/' 


••  LK rTMMM  mOM  ##07/  LA  rtTt'DHS,  (Vlf. 

«HNI«  I  rtKlc  on  my  pony  acroM'  the  nii>ri|4«,  m 
o<  iMiin,;  »bl«  .o  .IHKH  4  f«»  •dilliio,,,!  pl..v.r     In  •  «o«pM 
o<  hour.  «ll«rw«ni».  JuM  m  I  w«.  ntnlking  •  duck  ihWliy 
Innociitly  bMkiiig  on  lh«,  boMHn  „|  ih«  Hi^t,  •  eioyd  o< 
hor««m«n  twapi  muiul  th«  Imm  oI  th«  distant  nioMMain, 
•ml  returning  home.  I  fmiml  the  •ncartipmmt  I  hadf  Ml  w 
d*»«ricd— alive   and  |io|miIou<c  with  »%  nterry  a  group  of 
Frvnchnutfi  m  might  uywr  be  oiie't  lortun«  to  (all  in  with. 
Of  courw  they  were  drir«MHt  in  ewry  vanety  of  'cMttiHM, 
long  b.K>tt,  picturrwiue  hf%4nd  {.Hiking  hati,  with  hefe^ 
fherc  a  ■prinkling  of  Hcotch  ca|Mi  from  Ah^rdfen  ;  biH— 
whaijjKrt  might  Ik;, tin..  h«ad dr«M,  ^ndtJrncath  yo«i  might 
b«  Mir«  to  Ami  a  kriHllyr«?bwry  laciv     My  •>ld  friend  Count 
Trtmpe,  who  Itiid  accomplhlrd  the  etpedition,  at  onca  pr« 
•Wtc«l  me  to  th«  Frincr.  who  wai  cngagevi  in  sounding  t|M 
Jbpth  of  the  pi|)e  of  the  (.redjJ||y.lr,^,Kl  eni-ouragwl  by 
thc.graclouii  reception  whlcliSni.  Imp«irial   llighneM  ac- 
corded me,  I  ventured  to  ,lnf4«mi  him  thafthert:  was  a 
poor  banituet  toward,"  of  which  1  trusted  he~«nd  as  naay 
of  hU  olftcrrs  a^  the  tabic  could  Md— wouW  (»ndescend 
to  parMe.     After  a  little  hesitation.— caused,  I  prtMtma, 
r\yi  (Mr  of  o»ir  being  put  to  imoijvenlence,— he  was  kind 
tn0ugh  to  signify  hi*  acceptance  of  my  prq|)OMU,  and  In  a 
I  tow  mhutei«  aftcrwardir  whh  a  cordial  frankness   I  fuUy 
appreciated,  allowi^cl  me  tit  have  the  satisfaction  of  rfcciv. 
Ing  him  as  a  guest  within  my  tent. 

Although  I  never  had  the  plgsure  of  seeing  Pri 
pSIeot,  before,  I  shmdd  have  IcKown  Mm  •mongiLHip.^ 
■and,  frbm  his  remarkable  likeness  to  his  ui^,  tbTftrot 
Eihperor.      A   stronger   resemblance.   I    conceive,   could 
^fy  exist  between  two  perions.    The  same  delicate, 

S.^  ^SS^  ***'"  ^"^  •"*»>*h.  «nd  ft""  deter- 

ni^^"ff*"  ''■•*»*^'  however,  is  built  alto- 

rr  scaic,  and  his  eyes,  instead  of  being  of 


v^] 


munrdBtK  rttanAHA  nous. 


•  Mlil>i«nHng  W«M — MVfdIt  mmI  brown,  with  quite  %  dif 

^•fooOrM  •  lltti*  B«rmickUI,  (h<*  dtniMr  w*n( 

M  twfyrfiniMr  Mtitt  do  wholb  •ucli  tiMirry 

ir«  Iha  jponvIvw.    Wa  kad  aome  dUKcully 

«lB«kig  tway  tiM  liqpk^f  a  tall  |ilill«MMi|ih«r,  and  to 

Mch  linifo'tlirM  indiVidualt  wara  told  otl ,  but  tba  birds 

,.wfr«  no|  bMUy  oodkad,  ami  the  plum  iMtddinx  arriv«»«i  in 

Ifanc  tu  cQWWit  a  quaatioaable  tucoesa  intu  an  undoubted 

On  rialnx  ft^fm  tabla,  a«ch  on«  strolled  away  in.wjbat- 
•var  direction  bin  particiitur  taate  ■ug|«rat«d.  The  painter 
to  akftch  ;  fhc  gvolo(|iat  to  break  atonefi  ;  the  philnaopher 
to  moValiie,  t  preaume,— :«t  least  he  lighted  a,  cigar,— >and 
tba  fast  to  auparintend  tb«  arectton  qf  tb«  tanta  which  had 
)uMaiTtva«i       ^ 

In  an  hour  afterwards,  al««p— 4hough  not  attogetbar 
iUance — for  4oud  and  »tro|lg  rose  the  ehoral  nervin*  in- 
toned to  Morpheus  from  ivtlry  aide— r«igne<l  aupreme  ovar 
Ibe  encampincnt,  wbbae  canvaa  haWtattona,  buiMkd  to- 
gather  on  the  deanhiied  plateau,  Itxikefl  almost  C!rimean. 
This  last  notion,  I  suppose,  must  have  mingled  with  my 
dnMMM,  lor  not  long  afterwards  I  found  myself  in  full  swing 
towafda  a  Ritaaian  bMttery,  tbat  banged  and  beitowad,  and 
cannonaded  about  my^ura  in  a  fashion  fretful  to  b«ir. 
^>p«rently  I  wan  serving  In  the  French  attock«  for  clear 
'  mA  shrill  above  the  tempest  ros0  the  cry,  "  Alerte  t  alette  I 
•MX  armes,  Monseifneur  t  aux  anneaj^  The  ground  shook, 
^wws  of  Muoke  foae  bafore  my  vf^  and  complately  hid 
tbe  dffonow  of  liikMla|Ml ',  which  fact,  mi  raflection,  I 
perceived  to  be  A«  taH  axtraorrtlnary,  as  I  waa  standing 
in  my  shirt  at  the  damr  «f  a  tent  in  Iceland.  The  premon- 
itory symplami  of  ••  amption,  which  I  bad  taken  for  a 
Rtmsian  cannonading,  bad  awakened  the  French  alaepera, 
— ««inivcraal  cry  waa  pervading  tbe  encampment,— «nd  the 


■  i 

•I 


I 


\- 


f 


^' 


k 


Mfiii 


VL     'H  /Mir  :  .    n  i' 


.'■"r:. 


'5 


Stf~,' 


■  <'IB 


vr 


V 


*  »i 


1^:^     \\ 


>>,.  ')  • 


-  -  f 

fO  '^'^'fS  rnOM  HIGH  LATtTUDMS.^^       [VII 

^^Jtlll"^'  had  turned  out--chie<ly  i„  b«e  |«»«to 

f^sed  him^f  o^  h»  hind-lcK»-fclI_made  one  ^rf 
fort,-a<t».en  ^ving  it  u,> «.  a  bad  job.  saT^lJi 
h»  ^xuiomed  fcactiot,  .»d  left  the  di.;^  J^^ 
biy  to  d«pen«  |o  their  ^^.pective  dormit^!^       ""^ 

«  «^rlv  W^7  '"'  "'^''^  encampment  «  .tirring 

.^^  ^  houRwith  preparations  for  departure  •  for  n^ 

Mttsfiurtory  as  ft  hirf  been  the  F«.«^k  ^^  .""^ '  '®'^  "^ 

■•IvM  .k-li^^  I-    .-         •         French  considered  them- 

»^f^  ^''''  '*''**"'  performmure  they  had^^ 
-^from  any  longer"  making  anled«in,beC^r.Z^ 
!?r  capricious  a  functionaiy.     Being  very  «»^ 

1^  J     ,      .  ■  '*^  mmotes  two  or  thr**  <..»• 

Ifv  ^^.•r^''*  •™™'  "^  "d  looking  ,i  iZ^' 
of  Nipoteon  before  rtt  bailie sTAiWerlit.   A-^.^ 

««  Fre«*  bq^  ,.  ,«  i^H„,     ii^'^'Snl-rf 
arded  to  the  disadvaniaM^  «f  b»-«i.-.  ^™  **"* 

«-^-.»:™t""S!:bir«'iSit.'tr 

dUaloiy  (o«.,..i„,  ,Kh  .  b,n  which  amply  ..WTlI - 
«».    '"***»'«»*»~w»^h«wm,tophdlogTaph  thewup^ 


VII.] 


CHAifGE. 


9« 


Hon  proved  abittive.    We  had  already  attempted  botl^ 

Strokr  and  th«  Great  Geysir,  but  in  the  case  of  the  latter 

the  exhibition  was  always  concluded  before  the  plate  could 

be  got  ready ;  and  although,  as  far  as  Strokr  is  concerned, 

yott  can  tell  within  a  certain  period  when  the  performance 

will  take  plaice,  yet  the  interval  occurring  between  the  dose 

and  the  e^^Iosion  varies  so  capriciously,  that  unless  you 

"  are  content  to  spend  many  days  upon  the  spot,  it  would  be 

atawtt  impotoible  to  hit  it  off  exactly.    On  this  last  occa- 

uon,>-although  we  did  not  prepare  the  plate  until  a  good 

twenty  minutes  after  the  turf  was  thrown  in,— the  spring 

remained  inactive  so  much  longer  than  is  usual  that  the 

collodion  became  quite  insensitive,  and  the  eruption  left 

no  impression  whatever  upon  it. 

Of  our  return  journey  to  Reykjavik  I  think  I  have  no 
very  interesting  paitlcttlars  to  give  you.    Durii^  the  early 
part  <rf  the  morning  there  had  been  a  slight  threatening  of 
rain  ;  but  by  twelve  o'clock  it  hatti  settled  down  into  one 
ol  those  still  dark  days,  which  wrap  even  the  most  familiar 
landscape  in  a  mantle  of  mystery.    A  heavy,  low-hung, 
steel-colored  pall  was  stretched  almost  entirely  across  the 
heavens,  except  where  along  the  flat  horizon  a  broad  stripe 
of  (^  atmosphere  let  the  eye  wander  into  space,  in  search 
of  the  peariy  gateways  of  Pawdise.    On  the  other  side 
rose  the  contorted  lava  mounuiiis,  their  bleak  heads  knock- 
ing against  the  solid  sky  and  stained  of  an  inky  blackness, 
which  changed  into  a  still  more  lurid  tint  where  the  local 
reds  struggled  up  through  the  shadow  that  lay  "brooding 
over  the  desolate  scene.    If  w^in  the  domain  of  nature 
•uch  another  region  is  to  be  found,  it  can  only  be  in  the 
U4rt  of  th<Me  awful  solitudes  which  science  has  unveiled 
to  us  amid  the  untrodden  fastnesses  of  the  lunar  moun- 
tains.   An  hour  before  reaching  our  old  camping-ground  at 
TUngvalla,  ••  if  summoned  ^  enchantment,  a  dull  gi^ 
mist  closed  around  us,  and  suddenly  confounded  in  undis- 


M 


/ 


9»  LE  TTEKS  FROM  HICH  LA  TITUDBS.  [VII. 

tingufahable  ruin  the  gloor  and  the  terror  of  the  panorama 
we  had  traveraed  ;  «ky,  mountains,  horizon,  all  had  disap- 
rir^  r  '*  *«  *»'^»i"#  our  eyes  from  the  edge  oiZ 
Rabna  Gj.i  across  the  mon<«onous  grey  level  at  our  feet,  it; 
was  almost  d.fficuh  to  believe  that  there  lay  the  same  mJl 
gical  p  ain,  the  first  sight  of  which  had  become  almost  «i' 
epoch  tn  our  lives. 

I  had  sent  on  .cook,  baggage,  ind  guides,  ^mie  hours 
before  we  ourM^lves  started,  so  that  on  our  arrival  we  found 
a  dij,  cosy  tent,  and  a  warm  dinner  awaiting  us.    The 
rapid  transformation  of  the  aspect  of  the  country,  which  I 
had  just  witnessed,  made  me  quite  understand   how  com 
pletely  the  success  of  an  expedition  in  Iceland  must  de- 
pended,! the  weather,  and  fully  accounted  lor  the  difference   , 
I  had  observed  m  the^oti^t  erf  enjoyment  diflPerent  trav- 
ellers seemed  to  have  derived  from  it.     It  is  one  thing  fb 
ride  forty  m.les  a  day  through  the  most  singular  scene*  i„ 
he  world,  when  a  pdiant  sun  brings  out  every  featured 
the  country  mto  startling  distinctness,  transmuting  the  dull 
tormented  earth  into   towers,  domes,  and    pinnacles  .rf 
g^mg  metal,-and  weaves  for  every  disUnt  summit  « 
robe  of  vanegated  light,  such  as  the  "  Delectable  Moun- 
tarns     must  have  worn  for  the  rapt  gate  of  weaiy  "  Chri^ 
tian;   -and  another  to  plod  over  the  same  forty  mile^ 

«o»»  of  h.lls,  that  rise  you  know  not  how,  and  you  ^ 
not  where-with  no  better  employment  than  to  look^ 
your  watch,  and  wonder  when  you  shall  reacl,  yourjou. 

tsl  r  H  J :  "^'  '"•"  """"'^  *•"""  ^''^'  y^'  -"  ^^ 

tent?Zir^i"n^'  ""'•'  '^  baggagetrain,  with  the 
tents  and  food,  shall  have  come  up,  with  uo  alternative  in 
^  mean  t.me  but  to  lie  shivering  inside  a  grass-ro^ 
^h.  or  to  share  the  quarters  of  some  fam^^ 
••ose  domestic  arrangemenU  rMcmble  in^pvery  particuli 


^■i*-" 


▼IL] 


CHANGE. 


93 


,*, . 


'■*■?■(>' 


llMae  vhich  Macaulay  describes  as  prevailing  ainoi^  the 
Scottish  Highlanders  a  hundred  years  ago ;  and,  if  finally 
— Mter  vainly  waiting  for  some  days  to  see  an  eruption 
which  never  talces  place — ^you  journey  back  to  Reykjavik 
under  the  same  melancholy  oindttions,— it  will  not  be  un- 
natural that,  on  returning  to  your  native  land  you  should 
prodaim  Iceland,  with  her  Geysirs,  to  be  a  sham,  a  delu- 
sion, and  a  snare  t' 

Fortune,  however,  seemed  determined  that  of  theae  bit* 
temeaaes  we  ^ould  not  taste ;  for  the  next  nKwnii^,  bright 
and  joyous  overhead  bent  the  blue  unclouded  Jieaven ; 
while  the  plain  lay  gleaming  at  our  feet  in  all  the  brillian- 
cy of  enamel.  I  was  sorely  tempted  to  litter  another  day 
in  the  nei^borhood;  but  vre  have  already  spent  more 
time  upon  the  Geysirs  than  I  had  counted  tqwo,  jand  i| 
will  not  do  to  remain  in  Iceland  longer  than  the  x^Sti,  or 
Winter  wiR  have  begun  to  barricade  the  passes  into '  his 
Arctic  dominions.  My  plan,  on  returning  to  Reykjavik,  n 
to  sfOd^  sdiooner  round  to  wait  for  us  in  a  harbor  on 
the  north  coast  of  the  island,  while  we  ourselves  strike 
Straight  across  the  interior  on  horseback. 

The  scener)',  I  am  told,  is  magnificent.  On  the  way 
we  shall  pass  msuiy  a  little  n0ok,  shut  up  among  the  hills, 
that  has  been  consecrated  %  some  touching  old-world 
story  ;  and  the  manner  of  life)  among  the  northern  inhabit- 
ants is,  I  believe,  more  unchanged  and  characteristic  than 
that  of  any  other  of  the  islanders.  Moreover,  scarcely 
any  stranger  has  ever  pehetrated  to  any  distance  in  this 
direction ;  and  we  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  traversing 
a  slice  of  that  tremendous  desert — piled  up  for  thirty  thou- 
sand square  miles  in  disordered  pyramids  of  ice  and  lava 
over  the  centre  of  the  country,  and  periodically  devastated 
by  deluges  of  molten  stone  and  boilii^  mudt  or  over- 
whelmed  with  whirlwinds  of  intemtii^led  mow  and  da- 
dcn,— «n  unfinished  comer  of  the  universe,  where  the  ele 


'    . 

- 

. 

01 

tJtl!liait!ti^'i.J^ 

Jijfciiiti™  li^^-uju , 

1 

4!.     ;  j'Aii 

i 

.^ 


ft  ^TTMMS  FMOM  mCif  LAr/TVDMS.         [VIL 

Mtt  Of  duM  an  •till  alkm«d  to  ri^ge  with  uobridled 
iwy. 

Our  last  sta^  flQm  Thingvalla  back  to  Reykjavik  ma 
got  over  veryiiuickly,  and  seemed  an  infinitely  shortw  di.. 
Unce  than  when  we  first  performed  it.    We  i;iet  a  number 
of  farmers  returning  to  their  homes  from  a  kind  of  fair  that 
u  annually  held  in  the  litUe  metiopolis ;  and  as  I  watched 
the  Idng  caravan-like  line  of  pack-hors^  and  horsemen 
weanly  plodding  over  the   stony  waste  in  single  file.  I 
found  it  less  difficult  to  believe  that  these  remote  islanders 
•houW  be  descended  from  OrienUl  forefathers.    In  fact, 
one  IS  constantly  reminded  of  the  East  in  Iceland.     From 
the  earliest  ages  the  Icelanders  have  been  a  people  dw^l- 
i^m  tents.    In  the  time  of  the  ancient  Parliament,  the 
legialators,  dt^i%  the    entire   ses«on.  lay  encamped  in 
Bwvable  booths  around  the  place  of  meeting.    Their  do- 
mestic  polity  is  naturally  patriarchal,  and  the  flight  of  their 
ancestors  from  Norway  was  a  protest  against  the  antago- 
nistic principle  of  feudalism.    No  Arab  could  be  prouder 
of  his  courser  than  they  are  of  their  little  ponies,  or  rev- 
erence more  deeply  the  sacred  rights  of  hospitality ;  while 
the  solemn  salutation  exchanged  between  t«o  companies 
of  travellers,  passing  each  other  in  the  datn^-m  they  in- 
vanab.y  call  the  uninhabited  part  of  the  country— would 
not  have  misbecome  the  stately  courtesy  of  the  moat  an- 
aent  worshippers  of  the  sun. 

Anything  more  nuiUifarious  than  the  landing  of  these 
caravans  we  met  returning  to  the  inland  dlatrfcts^-cannot 
weU  be  concel%-ed  ;  deal  boards,  rope,  kegs  of  brandy. 
Mcks  of  rye  or  wheaten  flour,  «Ut,  soap,  sugar,  snuft  to- 
Ucco  coffee  ;  everything,  in  fact,  which  was  necesaaty  to 
tfieir  domestic  consumption  during  the  ensuing  winter.  In 
ewhange  for  these  commoditie^  which  of  course  they  am 
obliged  to  get  from  Europe,  the  Icelanders  eaport  rwr 
wool,  knitted  stockings,  mittens,  ctmd  cod,  and  fish  oO, 


-rli'^^^- 


^gyary^^""'  '-""v-  ^'■'y^'g^y^'g'' "^'j^Jigy' 


Ttl.]    MASrSJfAT  flABlTS  Of  TBE  KELAffDERS.        9S 

whale  blubber,  fox  skins,  eider-down,  feathery  and  Ice- 
landic moss.  During  the  last  few  years  the  exports  of  the 
island  have  amounted  to  about  t,soe|Oeo  lbs.  of  wool  and 
500^000  pairs  of  stockings  and  mittens.  Although  Iceland 
is  one-fifdi  lar|;er  than  Ireland,  its  population  consists  of 
only  about  6o/>oo  persons,  scattered  along  the  habitab^ 
rii^r  which  runs  round  between  the  central  desert  and'the 
•ea ;  of  the  whole  area  of  38,000  square  miles  it  is  calcu- 
lated that  not  more  than  one-eighth  part  is  occupied,  the 
'C">**"i"S  33>oo9  square  miles  consisting  (^  naked  moith- 
tains  of  ice,  or  villeys  desolated  by  lava  or  volcanic  ashes. 
Even  Reykjavik  itself  cannot  boast  <^moie  than  700,  or 
'800  inhabitants.        ,.  » 

Dorii^  winter  time  the  men  are  chiefly  employed  in 
tending  cattle,  picking  wool,  manufacturing  ropes,  bridles, 
saddles,  and  building  boats.  The  fishing  season  com- 
mences in  lairing ;  in  1853  there  were  as  many  as  3,500 
boats  engaged  upon  the  water.  As  summer  advances — 
turf-cutting  and  haynnaking  begins;  while  the  autumn 
mondM  are  principally  demoted  to  the  repairit^  of  their 
houses,  manuring  the  grass  lands,  and  killing  and  curing 
of  sheep  for  exportation,  as  well  as  for  their  own  use  dur- 
ing winter.  The  wmaaivkind  of  a  family  occupy  them* 
selves  throughout  the  year  in  washing,  carding,  and  ^fMn- 
ning  wool,  in  knitting  gloves  and  stockings,  and  in  i9eaiv- 
ing  frieze  and  flannel  for  their  own  wear. 

The  ordinary  food  of  a  well-to^o  Icelandic  family  con- 
sists 9l  dried  iakk^  butter,  sour  whey  kept  till  fermentation 
takes  pUce,  curds  and  skier--«  very  peculiar  cheese  unlike^ 
any  I  ever  tasted,--a  little  mutton,  and  rye  bread.  As 
might  be  expected,  this  meagre  fare  is  not  very  conducive 
to  health ;  scurvy,  leprosy,  elephantiasis,  and  all  cutaneous 
disorders,  are  very  common,  while  the  practice  fA  mothers 
to  leave  <Mff  musing  their  children  at  the  end  of  thret 


4 


i''v 


^n^^-^^^^^  .  «    ^.±B 


F    iJi^-*^  -'fe^t.    ■-3'fr^^*fe!i'?«o»fc£flti,'^»^aS-il4M^it*ir*l£^«Af4l 


~f.  ^  •   j-iTi 


•^  \'^rTBMS  FMOAi  WGH  LAT/TUiyMs:        [Vll 

d^  feeding  thi»n.  withcowi'  milk  lo«e.d.  result,  to  . 
fr«hfful  mortality  among  the  bable..   ^^^ 

Land  i,  held  either  in  fee-,implc,  or  let  by  the  Cm«n 

»«««•.    The  rent  is  calculated  partly  on  the  number^ 
^  occupied,  partly  on  the  head  of  ca,«e7he  Z^lt  ^ 

^c.  lenants  iK  eaay  d^mimstances  generdlv  emolo* 
two  or  three  laborers.  who-4«  addition  tJThe^bL^d  «d 
M^-receive  fr«„  ten  to  twelve  dolla^  a  yt  cJ 
w^  Ko  property  can  be  entdled,  artd  if  anv  onTii^ 
inteatate.  What  he  leavea  is  distributed  ^Jl  Ws  d^fh^ 
-n  equal  shares  to  the  .on^  inMIf  .ha^.o  the  ^. 

thi  ]^|jc  revenue  ariaing-fitmi  Crown  laikfa.  ^lim^ 

tw«,  officers  salaries  (the  Govenior  hiJ.  about  aooTa 
y^).  «c«ia«ical  esublishments,  e^,  eaceeds  W  . 
ITt'utL""^  the  ..land  is  certainly  not  a  .If^^;^;; 

naWy  Mctllcni  blaclomilli..  ^  "^ 

^  approach  Reykjavik,  for  rte  «„,  ««  j.^, -, 

fcad  boa.  acoBWmed  to  roam  at  l«ge,  i  cm*,, ,!«  .^ 

•owa  wluc^  the  mmw  btidle««I  m  carried  and^ 
mn^,n^c^M^„  drive  .tan.^^ 


-*■..;  d,'5w-i?:-; 


^^^^^^^^^^ 


.     (• 


I-  .    ' 


RRYKJAVIK'. 


97 


track  again.  At  last,  though  not  till  I  had  been  violently 
h^Sed,  kissedi,  and  nearly  puUed  of!  my  hone  by  an  en- 
thusiastic and  rather  tipsy  farmer,  who  mistook.me  for  the 
Prince,  we  galloped,  about  five  o'clock,  triumphantly  into 
the  tofwn,  itithout  an  accidei^t  having  occurred  to  man^  or 
horse  during-  the  whole  ytourse  of  the  expedition~«lway8 
excepting  one  tremend^iHis  fall  sustained  by  Wilson.  It  was 
on  the  evening  of  the^day  we  leflk  the  Geysirs.  We  were 
all  galloping  in  stuj^e  file  down  the  lava  pathway,  when 
suddenly  I  heisurd  a  cry  behind,  me,  and  then  the  noise  as 
of  a  descending  avalanche.  'On  turning  round, 'b<eho40 
both  Wilson  ai^  his  pony  lay  stretched  upon  this  ground, 
4he  first  som<!yard«  in.  advance  of  the  other.  The  pooi 
fellow  evictetji^ly  though^lie  w^  killed  ;  for  he  ileither  spoke 
il^  stirred/but  la^^kx^ng  up  at  me  with  blank,  beady 
eyes  as  I/ipproached  to  his  assistance.  oA  furthering 
vestigation  neither  of  the  sufferers  proved  to  be  a  bit  the 

■  worse.  ■  - 

llie  cook  and  the  rest  of  the  party,  did  not  arrive  till 
a^t  midnight  ;  but  I  make  no  doubt,  that  when  that  able 
jixA  ^$^^  individual  did  at  length  reascend  the  side  of 
the  sch^rier,  his  cheek  must  have  burned  with  pride  at  the 
refttQtion,  that  during  the  short  period  of  his  absence  on 
shore  he  had  added  to  his  other  accomplishments  that  of  be- 
com>i%  a  most  finished  cavalier.  I  do  not  mean  by  dut  to 
im|»ly  that  he  was  at  all  d0iu.  Although  we  had  enjoyed  uur 
trip  so  much,  I  was  not  sorry  to  find  myself  on  board.  The 
descent  again,  after  our  gipsy  life,  into  the  coquettish  little 
cabin,  with  its  books  and  dear  home  faces,  quite  penetra- 
ted me  With  that  feeling  of  snug  content  of  which  I  oeli^Tie 
Englishmen  alone  are  susceptible. 

I  have  now  to  relate  to  you  a  most  pain&il  occurreiice 

*wfaich  has  taken  place  during  my  absence  at  the  Geysirs  ; 
-—no  less  a  .catastrophe,  in  fact,  than  a  mutiny  among  nqr 
hitherto  most  exemplary  ship's  company.    I  supposi;  they, 


i.SJl.T;;£!^?l^rtf.Vii. 


•■,  -T      * 


^  /iTTTM'^  jtjtaM  HWH  LATITUDSS.  [V|I. 

too.  katioccatbn  to  bear  witiMM.  »«  .i^ 

pitKluced  ^Ti,         'hlp-bowd  rations,  couW  never  have 
Proauced  such  an  emeijency.    Suffice    it    to  sav    rt^ 

M  a  d«p.ra,e  ho.,  u,.y  d«.nnin«l  on  a  desperate  Z? 

W.-«oleM  he  acceded  to  their  demand^  the.  thr«^ 
"report  h.m  when  i  „,«„«„  The  IWatHTjI^ 
»»  threwB  open,  and  all  its  .-~.._;rL^!-  •*'™"*^ 
called— i.».H«Lii  V  *"°«*— rf  "«<*  "hey  may  be 
rJ-Tin  ^-  '^JW  •»»  o<  pill^  the  tat  that 
came  to  hand-they  happened  to  be cal««l_-j!l™, 
oj.^  .h^  and  .ha„  alike,  with  concoS^vlT^:^ 

Z17;,7^  "*  y""*""  <•  nai"  to  the  I..1. 

neMesothiipantiy.        ^  -"Mai 

«Wrtnne  o(  EKulapim.    By  the  time  I  returned  ik. 

«^»cie.  .C^  h«l  been  mote  th«.«L^lS  ,t 
««««.  alre»ly  «oned  for.  The  mbelllou.  *«r,^ 
b«»me  mo.t  penitent  ,*««<,  ;  ^i^^  ^^_      " 

fa™.  ofTT^       rtBconMUte  culprit^  with  the  A«atie 

^  whir-r r.^i'^""^  ^-  -'« '^  '••' 

M«k  h«^  become  pop«l«,s  with  new  arrival  V  Fim  iS 
«»•/«*«,  a  mapuScent  WW,  cor«ite  of  ,.,«,  ,«„., 


V  . 


VII.] 


*LA  REINE  NOMTSNSMr 


h«d  b»t  pwted  with  her  three  jreart  ago  in  the  Baltic,  after 
ihe  had  towed  me  for  eighty  miles  on  our  way  from  Bomar> 
MDd  to  Stockholm.    Then  there  were  two  English  screw 

£9^r%  of  about  700  tons  each,  taken  up  by  the  French 
rnreent  as  tenders  to  the  yacht;  not  to  mention  a 
ish  favig,  and  one  or  two  other'  foreigners,  which, 
logetherwith  tlie  frigate,  thr  barque,  and  the  vessels  we 
had  found  here  on  our  first  arrival,  made  the  usually  de» 
lerted  bay  look  quite  lively.  Until  this  ^ar  no  steamers 
had  ever  cockneylied  its  secluded  waters. 

Hiis  morning,  directly  after  breakfast,  I  went  on  board 
the  **Jtt»m  HorHmse"  to  pay  mjy  respects  to  Prince  KapO' 
leon ;  and  H.  I.  H.  has  just  done  ^ve^  the  honor  of  com- 
ing to  inspect  the  '^JFbam."  When  I  ini^,first  presented  to 
htm  at  the  Geysirs,  ihe  asked  me  what  my  ptens  aught  be ; 
and  on  my  mentioHfing  my  resolution  of  saaihg  to  the 
Nwth,  he  most  kindiy  proposed  that  I  should  coiik^  with 
him  West  to  Greenland  instead.  My  anxiety,  however, 
1(0  rei^  if  it  were  possible,  Jan  Mayen  and  Spitzbei4en, 
prevented  my  accepting  thii  most  tempting  offer;  but  in 
the  mean  time,  H.  I,  H.  has,  it  seems,  himself  determined 
to  come  to  Jan  Mdyen,  and  he  is.  now  kind  enough  to  say 
that  if  I  can  get  ready  for  a  start  by  six  o'clock  to-morrow 
mdrning,  the  "Heme  Hortaue"  shall  take  me  in  tow.  To 
ppofit  by  this  proposal  would  of  course  entail  the  giving 
up  my  |d«i  of  riding  across  the  interior  of  Ic«l«nd,  whiieh 
I  should  be  very  loth  to  do ;  at  the  same  tim'c,  the  season 
V  is  so  far  advanced,  the  mischances  of  our  first  start  from 
^^-£ngland  have  thrown  us  so  far  behind  in  our  programme, 
tlttt  it  would  ieem  almost  a  pity  to  ^lect  such  an  oppor- 
tunity of  overrunning  the  time  that  has  been  lost ;  and 
after  all,  these  Polar  islands,  which  so  few  have  visited,  are 
iHiihtl  am  chiefly  bent  on  seeing.  Before  I  close  this  letter 
the  thing  will  have  been  settled  one  way  or  another ;  lot  I 
•m  to  have  tlw  honor  of  'dining  with  the  Prince  thb  eve* 


V 


•*'. 


■  i  \ 


•*  iLff77»*J  fittOi^UtCH  LAT/TVOMS.         [VII. 

jmul5  Afcerdmncr  there  i.  to  iJe  ^bali  or  board  S 
fafte.  to  ^w,h  dl  the  rank.  fashioaXul  bL^o  ?««! 
kj«vik  have  been  Invited.  «»ttiyotK«y. 


Irvc-p-dngthe  ««  of  Icel.mJ.«.d  go  Nti:at 
««.  It  hitt  oo«  me  «  «n«le  to  come  to  thi.^^ 
b«  on^the  whole  I  think  It  will  he  better.  TenTfil^ 
days  of  wmmer-tnne  become  very  preclou,  in  these  I^ 

^tn."^""''^*-'^^-     Atthismomenr^Ci 
««  brought  up  a«em  d  the  "  Jlems  mrUnse  "  andl^  «^ 

^  *^'  '»*'^"  »«"^  ^-^  for  a  ^.rt  in  half  anT^S^. 
ft«^   My  next  letter,  pleaap  God.  wiH  be  dated  ftoin  H^ 

a  foTn^  •    ^'  .     ***  *«chorage  is  clear,  I  .h^ll  spend 

«fcw  days  .n  e«mining  the  ^.land.  which> .11  .c^ 

•ouJd  appear  to  be  moat  curiSJia.  -"^uma 

I  happened  first  to  hear  of  tts  existence  from  a  verv  I*. 

-untain  which  S  the^hem  ell^S^^jt*  ^J! 
Z'  ^  *"*  ^y  '^»^-     Luckily,  the  weather^  C  whuL 

?eve7?rt^lK  ■"^'"'^"^  *•»  I  «hen  determined. 
It  ever  I  got  the  chance,  to  go  and  aee  with  my  own  e^ 
•o  great  a  marvel.  Imagine  a  aoike  «f  i^JT  .  7^ 
wholf.  2.i.»j  I       •        """^  *  *?*««  of  Igneous  roc^  (the 

^  to  the  he»ht  of  6.870  feet,  not  broad-baaed  like  a  p^ 
Mild,  nor  roundtopped  like  a  sugar-loai.  but    neeSI 

Jh^.  pointed  like  the  spire  olTdmS.  If  oT^ 
Hdl  .kipper  we.  «  good  a  draughtsman  a.  he  L::^^'^ 
beaaea«an.weri»o«ldnowbeo„  ^  ^^ 


<r 


/ 


_^B^r^i^ 


VII. 


7At»f  MAYBff. 


lOI 


wonders  of  the  world.  Most  pec^le  here  hold  otic  rather 
a  doleful  prospect,  and  say  that,  in  the  firsi  place,  it  ii 
probable  the  whole  island  will  be  imprisoned  within  the 
eternal  fields  of  ice,  that  lie  out  for  upwards  of  a  hundred 
and  fUty  miles  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Greenland ;  and 
next,  that  if  even  the  sea  should  be  clear  in  its  vkinity, 
the  fogs  up  there  are  so  dense  and  constant  that  the  chan- 
tts  are  very  much  against  our  bitting  the  land.  But  the 
fact  of  tlic  last  French  man-^War  which  sailed  in  ib«t 
direction  never  having  retumed^^as  made  those  seas  ne^- 
lessly  unpo^2ular  at  Reykjavik. 

It  was  during  one  of  these  fogs  that  Captain  Fotherby, 
the  original  disooverer  of  Jan  Mayen,  stumbled  upon  it  in 

^  1614.  WhUe  sailing  southwards  in  a  mist  too  thick  to  see 
a  ship's  length  off,  he  suddenly  heard  the  noise  of  waters 
breaking  on  a  great  shore ;  and  when  the  gigantic  baaes  6C 
Mount   Beerenberg  gradually    disclosed    themselves,  he 

;  thought  he  had  discovered  some  new  continent.  Since 
then  it  has  been  often  sighted  by  homeward-bound  whalers, 
but  rarely  landed  upon.    About  the  year  1633  the  Dutch 

'  Gcyemment,  wishing  to  establish  a  settlement  in  the  actual 
ne^i;hborhood  of  the  fishing-grounds,  where  the  blubber 
might  be  boiled  down,  and  the  spoils  of  each  season  trans- 
ported home  in  the  smallest  bulk, — actually  induced  seven 
seamen  to  volunteer  remaining  the  whole  winter  on  the 
island.*  Huto  were  built  for  them,  and  having  been  fur- 
nished with  an  ample  supply  of  salt  provisions,  they  were 

I  The  names  o{«the  seven  Dutch  seiunen  who  attenptcd  to  winlei 
la  |sa  Mayen's  Island  were : 

Ovtiert  Jacobson,  of  Groottabrook,  their  1 
Adrian  Martin  Carman.  o(  Schiedam,  clerk. 
.    Thaimiss  Thauniascn.  of  Schcrmehen.  cook. 
Dkk  Pttanoo,  of  Veenhuyse. 
Peter  Peterson,  of  Harhna. 
Sebastian  Gtsc,  of  Oefl».Haven. 
Gerard  Beaatin.  of  Bmges. 


•V 


J^  to  rwojve  the  p^blen,..!  to  w|«fc**  k,        w 
being,  could  «.pport  ih^m^x^TT'*  ^  "^  *»"■»" 

wn  .InkTM  had  .uok  »r!Li?l^'~^**"  "^^^  ^ 
!**•  you  of  it^iZ'Z  '*^  "^^  *^''*'*  "-««*  I  «« 

continued  all  that  night     7^,^  1  ^**T  ^'^  ''*"'* 
<t  began  to  .now  ve^  "^^^f,^;  ^'»;;  :i;l  «»»•  -«»*  ; 

•  *wk.    Towani.  eTeninll  ^  °"'  •Mowwce  i6r 

but  met  with  nothing."    And«b ^ 7T         °*»^""««<'9  ; 
<•*  •ieet  awl  worm.  '^''**  ***»"'«'  ">«y  •  w«uy  day    , 

On  the  Stii  of  September  thev  "— «  «^_«. 

volcanic  disturbance     A  n^u'lT^l  "-probably  womt 

tb..  a.ir linen. X.trn?.^.::^:;^  ««" 
come,  froien  IlkJ.  .  board  '  HoLlT?  ,  ,  »be  .i,  be- 
«dtheiyand.the«.r;iip  ":^.J.^^  . 

their  time  in  "  rehear»in-^      ^         tbey  .pend  most  of 

tb-thad  befa,,e?:;rChTyri:itd^";:!"-'' 
««tb  of  December  they  m^  ZTl.         ^'      ^  ^ 
^  t^l  the  effect.  7.  Le  ^'^  T"f  "'***'y  »»«1«" 

VtWt  D,y.  .6.6.    "  ^Lt^K  ^'  '*•*  *^'>'""  New 

-•y.  1030.       After  hav,„j  ^j.^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^ 


Vi 


e««»«t  In  ihe«  I.,Jh.de.  ttlnlriS'Eli.'^  •*" 

«lon  in  ttw  tenpciMtire,  both  of  S^TSl!-*^   ^  •*"*"  dwerjor. 

b«  been  f<«i«riy';^  Z^n'^J VSr*:^^^  ^^'^ 


'^^1^ 


:  ■*> 


.'        > 


VILJ  TKR'COLOlftSTSO^JAl^MAYtik 


I03 


happy  Mw  jmr»  and  wkxcm  in  our  cnteipiriM,  we  weqt  to 
piliyei^i9  iUi^«artlkan  our  hearts  before.  God."    On  the 
■Sth  of  February  (the  very  day  on  which  Wai,llenstein  was 
murdered;   the  sun   reappeared.     By  the  a  ad  of  March 
scurvy  had  already  decbred  itself :  "  For  want  of  refresh- 
ments we  b^an  to  bd  very  heartless,  andi  to  afflicted  that 
our  l<^  are  scarce  able  to  beai-  us.".    On  tbe'jd  of  i^ril, 
*^  there  being  no  more  than  two  of  us  in  healtht  we  killed 
for  thein^he  only  two  pullets  we  had  left ;  and  thay  fed 
pretty  heartily  upon  them,  in  hopes  it  might  prove  a  means 
to  recover  part  of  their  strength.    We  were  sorry  «»:  had 
not  a  doxen  more  for  their  sake."    On  Easter  Day,  Adrian 
Camian,  of  Schiedam,  their  clerk,  dies.     '^  The  Lord  have 
merqr  upon  his  so^l,  and  upon  us  all,  we  being  very  sick." 
I>ttrin|;>.thc  next' few  days  tWy  scan  all  to  have  got  rapidly 
worse  ;  one  only  is  strong  enough  to  move  about    He  has 
learnt  writing  from  his  comrades  since  coming  to  the  island ; 
and  it  is  he  who  concludes  the  melancholy  story.     "  The 
ajd  f  April),  the  wind  Uew  from  the  same  corner,^  with 
small  run.    We  were  by  this  time  reduced  to  a  very  de- 
plorable state,  there  being  none  of  them  all,  except  my- 
self, that  were  aUe  to  help  themselves,  much  less  one  an- 
other, so  that  the  whole  burden  Uy  upon  my  shoulders, — 
and  I  petfbrm  my  duty  at  well  as  I  am  able,  as  long  as 
God  pleases  to  give  me  strenf^,     I  am  just  now  a-going 
to  help  our-icommander  out  of  hi^  aMn,at  his  request^ 
because  he  imagined  by  this  chai^  to  ease  his  pain,  he 
then  struggling  with  death."    For  seven^ays  this  gallant 
fdlow  goes  on  "  striving  to  do  his  duty ; "  that  is  to  say, 
making  entries  in  the  journal  as  to  the  sUte  of  the  weathefi 
that  being  the  principal  object  their  employers  had  in  view 
when  they  left  them  on  the  island ;  but  on  the  30th  of 
April  his  strength  too  gave  way,  and  his  failing  hand  could 
do  no  mofc  thM  |nce  an  incompleted  sentence  on  th« 


.■J 


■4. ' 


•V 


...-^ 


■»^. 


!«^ 


a  ^?f^;t  '^   -^ 


>;>* 


^ 


F?''  .' 


«04  ^^TT&KS  FROM  HIGH  LATtTI/DBS.         [VII. 

Meanwhile  succor  and  reward  are  on  their  way  towaitl 
the  forlorn  garrison.  On  the  4th  of  June,  up  again  abov« 
the  horizon  rise  the  aaUs  of  the  Zealand  fleet ;  but  no  glad 
faces  came  forth  to  greet  the  boats  as  they  pull  towaixls 
the  shore ;  and  yJien  their  comrades  search  for  those  ther 
had  hoped  to  fiiwi  alive  and  well,-:»^loi  each  lies  dead  in 
his  own  but,— one  with  an  open  Prayer-book  by  his  side  ; 
i»n6ther  with  his  hand  stretched  out  towards  the  ointment 
rt^*  had  used  for  his  stiflfened  joints  ;  and  the  l^t  survivor, 
with  the  unfinished  journaUtill  lying  by  his  side. 

The  most  recent  recorded,  landing  on  the  islaud  was 
effected  twenty-two  years  ago,  by  the  brave  and  pious  Cap- 
tain, m>w  Dr.  Score8by,»  en  his  return  from  a  whaling 
cruise.  He  bad  seen  the  mountain  of  Beerenberg  one 
hundred  miles  off,  and,  on  approaching,  found  the  coast 
quite  clear  of  ice.  According  to  his  survey  and  observa- 
tions, Jan  Mayen  is  about  sixteen  miles  loi^,  by  four  wide ; 
but  I  hope  soon,  on  my  own  authority,  to  b«  able  to  tell 
you  more  about  it. 

Certainly,  this  our  last  evening  spent  in  Iceland  will 
not  have  been  the  least  joyous  of  our  stay.    The  dinner 
on  board  the  ""Meim  mrtmst'' rt^A  very  pleasant    T  re- 
new .J  aojuaintance  with  some  of  my  old  Baltic  friends, 
and  was  presented  Jo  two  or  three  of  the  Prince's  staff 
who  did  no:  accompany  the  expedition  to  the  Geytirs 
among  others,  to  the  Due  d'Abrantes,  Marshal  Junofs' 
■on.    On  sitting  down  to  table,  I  found  myself  between 
H.r.H.  and  Monsieur  de  Saulcy,  mettber  of  the  French 
Institute,  who  made  that  famous  expedition  to  the  Dead 
Sm,  and  is  one  of  the  gayest,  pleasantest  persons  I  have 
•Ver  met.    Of  course  there  was  a  great  deal  of  latching 
and  lalking,  as  well  as  much  speculaUon  with  regard  to  tile 
costume  of  the  Icelandic  ladies  we  were  to  aee  at  4ii  ball. 

i  r  vsgrtt  to  be  obUgtd  to  sabjofo  \\mx  Pr. 
ikealwvewuwritttfi. 


.'X...,^ 


**: 


■-   J,  ^,x:s:  ^^^ 


-.1*fli?^^?'-i5^f •'^^^?T'^-*  -ff,-iv'^. 


,  ^jv"-f»  a,  f" 


-    umift^^Wmj^'^JW 


Vll  ]  iCBLANDK  LADIES.  105 

It  appears  that  the  dove-cots  of  Reykjavik  have  been  a 
good  deal  fluttered  by  an  announcement  emanating  from 
the  gallant  Captain  of  the  "  Artemise  "  that  his  fair  guests 
would  be  expected  to  come  in  low  drcssef  ;  for  it  would 
seem  |hat  the  practice  of  showing  their  ivory  shoulders  is. 
as  jret»  an  idea  as  shocking  to  the  pretty  ladies  of  this 
country  as  waltzes  was  to  our  grandmothers.    Nay,  there 


"'^i 


1^  KMt,hmWK  XJMt. 

\ 

was  not  even  to  be  found  a  native  milliner  equal  to  the 
tMk  of  mariiingout  that  mysterious  line  which  divides  the 
prudish  from  the  improper  ;  so  that  the  Collet  montij  fac- 
tion have  been  in  despair.  As  It  turned  out,  their  anxiety 
on  this  head  was  unmceiaary ;  for  we  found  on  enttring 
the  MlfOMn,  Hut,  with  tiM  Mttiral  rtftmmtnt  whkh  char- 


M 


..  ^ 


^ 


l^^l^vtlfU.    i>J 


«06  LEITERS  FKOM  HiGU  ^TITVOES,  [Vll. 

acterizes  this  noble  people,  our  bright-eyed  putoert,  u  if 
by  iDspiration,  had  hit  off  the  exact  sweep  from  shoulder 
to  shoulder,  at  which— after  those  many  oscillations,  up 
and  down,  which  the  female  porsage  has  undergone  dnce 
Uie  time  (rf  the  first  Director— good  taste  has  finally  ar- 
rested it. 

I  happened  to  be  particularly  interested  in  the  above 
important  question ;  for  up  to  that  moment  I  had  lUways 
been  haunted  by  a  horrid  paragra|di  I  had  met  with  aooe- 
where  in  an  Icelandic  book  of  travels,  to  the  effect  that  it 
was  the  practice  of  Icelandic  women,  from  early  childhood, 
to  flatten  down  their  bosoms  as  much  as  possible.  This 
fact,  for  the  honor  of  the  iaiand,  I  am  now  in  a  position  to 
deny;  and  I  here  declare  that,  to  far  as  I  had  the  indis- 
cretion to  observe,  those  maligned  ladies  appeared  to  me 
as  buxom  in  form  as  any  rosy  English  girl  I  ha^e  vwer 
accn« 

It  was  neariy  nine  o'clock  before  we  adjourned  from 
the  ""Rchu  HarUnsty  to  the  ball.   Already,  for  some  tine 
past,  boats  full  of  gay  dresses  had  been  passing  under  the 
corvette's  Stem  on  their  way  to  the  '' Artmiu*'  lookiof 
litte  flower-beds  that  had  put  to  lea,— thot^h  they  certainly 
could  no  longer  be  called  %  pmrUrvt  ,>—vbA  by  the  time  w« 
ourselves  mounted  her  lofty  sides,  a  mii^(led  stream  of 
music,  light,  and  silver  lai^hter,  was  pouring  out  of  every 
port-hole.   The  ball-room  was  veiy  prettily  arranged.   The. 
upper  deck  had  been  doaed  in  with  a  ktfty  roof  of  canvas, 
from  wnich  hung  suspended  glittering  lustres,  formed  by  bay- 
onets with  their  points  collected  into  an  inverted  pyramid, 
and  the  butt-endii  serving  as  sockets  for  the  tapers.    Every 
wall  was  gay  with  flags, — the  frigate's  frowning  armament 
all  hid  tx  turned  to  bdies  uses :  8a  pounders  became  sofim 
—boarding  pikes,  balustrades— pistols,  candle^icks— the 
brass  carronades  set  oa  ewi,  pHlarwiae,  their  brawlii^ 
mouths  ttoiqmi  wifh  noe^p|f* ;  while  imrahi  of  the  Bm 


.-.y-i .  ^rf  jj- #■*■—■ 


'■w 


%   .  T      f  .^r*" 


r'j^l  ■»5'«i»,"V  a^V' 


VIX.] 


FEARFUL  SUOGESTIONS. 


lOJ 


«^ 


pnm-  and  the  Empress,  busts,  coles  draped  with  Parisian 
cunnini^  gave  to  the  scene  an  appearance  ot  festivity  that 
looked  quite  fairy-like  in  so  sombre  a  region.    As  for  out 
gallant  host,  I  never,  saw  such  spirits ;  he  is  a  fine  old  grey- 
beaded  blow-J»ard  of  fifty  odd,  talking  English  like  a  native, 
and  combining  the  frank  open-hearted  cordiality  of  a  sailor 
witfi  that  graceful  winning  gaiety  peculiar  to  Frenchmen. 
I  never  saw  anything  more  perfect  than  the  kind,  almost 
fadierly,  courtesy  with  which  he  welcomed  each  blooming 
bevy  of  maidens  that  trtoped  up  hiii  ship's  side.    About 
two  o'clock  we  had  supper  on  the  main  deck.    I  had  the 
honor  of  Uking  down  If  bs/Thora,  of  Bessestad ;  and 
somehow— this  time,  I  no  longer  found  myself  wandering 
back  in  search  of  the  pale  face  of  the  old-world  Thora, 
being,  I  suppose,  sufficiently  occupied  by  the  soft,  gentle 
eyw  of  the  ohe  beside  me.    Wit^  the  other  young  ladies 
I  did  not  make  much  acquaintance,  as  I  eiqieriencMl 
a  difficulty  in  findii^  befitting  remarks  tm  the  occasion 
of  being  presented  to  them.      Once  or  twice,  indeed,  I 
baarded,  throi^  their  fathers,  some  little  compliment- 
ary observations  in  Latin  ;  but  I  cannot  say  that.  I  found 
that  language  lend  itsffi  readily  to  the  galhwtries  of  the 
ball-room.     After  supper  dancing  recommenced,  atKl  ^ 
hilarity  of  the  evening  reached  iu  highest  pitch  jHk^  half 
a  iottn  sailors,  draaacd  in  turbans  made  of  fli«i  (one  of 
them  a  lady  with  the  >face  of  tiM  tragic  museX  came  fM>- 
ward  and  danced  the  cancan,  with  a  gravity  and  decorum 
that  wottM  have  greatly  edified  what  Gavami  calls  **im  As- 


At  3  o'doek  a.  at.  I  ratumed  on  boaid  the  achooner, 
and  we  are  all  now  v«fy  busy  in  making  final  preparations 
for  (tepmture.  Fits  is  reamu^i^  his  apothecMy's  shop. 
Sigurdr  U  writing  lettm.  The  last  strains  of  musk  have 
ceased  on  board  the"  ^fAsMtfr;"  the  sun  is  already  hfgli  is 


■:^ 


t 
p 


■4^r 


/  -V^     .        ^       ,^-  ^s-      ^f^^^^;r^.^„yg^^^ 


io8 


LMTTEMS  PKOM  aWB  LATTTUDBS. 


lyii. 


tttfe  draggled  perhaps^  as  if  jw|  pdtad  by  a  dmnder* 
storin  ;  the  " JMm  Mtrtam**  ktt  t^t  ber  iMan  up,  aad 
die  raal,  serious  pvt  of  pur  voyage  is  abpat  tcr  begin. 

I  feel  that  my  deacriptM^bas  not  half  i/omt  jusor  to 
tbewoaoendf  this  interestii^  udand ;  bat  lean  icier  ycai 
to  yoor  frieiid  &  Henry  Holland  for  further  details ;  be 
paid  a  visit  to  Iceland  in  1810,  vridi  Sir  G.  Madwnsie,  ajBd 
aukle  himself  thoroughly  acqoainted  with  its  historical  and 
;  associations. 


# 


CONCLUDING  ACT. 

DRAMATIS  PERSON  A 

V0K8  or  PuBicii  CArrAiN,  Commanmmo  **  R.  rtl^  .^.^ 

LoanD. 

DocToa. 

WlUOH.  ,^.-'' 

PMr«<' /^smmI  Cafimim.^**  Nous  partons." 

LtniD ..^-^AllrtfMly,  Sin** 

irSiwM  *  JDMbr  (mM»  •Mr)r«'*  Sir  I  ** 
i¥rt^r.— -Eh?" 
Wiltm.^*'  Do  you  know,  Sir  ?  ** 
.^«r.— •^Whatr*'  ^ 

mlmt,—**  CMi,  nothing,  Sir  ^^ only  we're  gotog  to  tlH 
bky  regions.  Sir,  ain't  we  ?  Well,  I've  just  seen  that  m« 
bd|i  as  is  cmne  from  there.  Sir,  and  they  say  there's  a  ^m- 
lot  of  ice  this  year  I  (/tam;)  Do  you  know.  Sir,  te 
dK»wed  me  the  bows  of  his  vesatl.  Sir  ?  Sha^i 
feet  of  solid  timber  in  her  for'ard :  •w'sir  only 
teehes,Siri"    {Dimtttbm) 

yon  ready?*' 


Q~ 


.!«.  . 


^t*. 


^7na«i 

terrf 

■  '.-<, 

* 
1 

LETTER  VIII. 


V   ■■( 


WAKT  raOM  UVKJAiriK— SNAKriLL— TRi  LADY  OF  imOIM 
— ^  iSRSUK  TKAOBOY— THc  CHAMPION  Or  BRBIDAVIK— 
ONUNDBR  FIORD— flu: LAST  NIOHT— CROSSING  THt  ARO 

Wc  OMctm—nn^it  roard  the  •♦  rbine  hortrnsk"— 
Lt  pArb  arctiqub— rtb  fall  in  with  thb  icb^tbs 


•AXON"  DttAFPIAaS—MISTT-A  FATING  IN  A  LONBLY 
SVOI^Mir  MAYBM-~MOVNT  BBBRBNBBRG— AN  UNPtBAS- 
ANT  FOBinON— SHIFT  OF  WIND  AMD  BXTRICATffMf—^  TO 
HORIlO^AY    OYBR    THB  FARM  "^-A    NASTY  CeA8T--ilAM. 


S 


HAMMRRFBtr,  Jttly. 

Back  in  Europe  again,— within  i«ach  of  posts !  The 
glad  sun  shining,  the  soft  winds  blowing,  and  roses  on  the 
caWn  taUe,— AS  if  the  region  of  fog  and  ice  we  have  JHit 
fled  forth  from  were  indeed  the  dream-land  these  summer 
•ights  would  make  it  seem.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  gay 
Rnd  joyous  it  all  appears  to  us,  fresh  from  a  climate  that 
would  not.hRve  been  unworthy  of  Dante's  Inferno.  And 
fet— iMd  it  been  twice  ai  bad,  what  we  have  seen  would 
fcRvemore  than  repaid  us,  though  it  has  been  no  child's 
friay  to  get  to  see  it. 

'  tet  I  must  begin  where  I  left  off  in  my  Jatt  Ictterr- 
>nt,  I  think,  as  we  were  getting  under  way.^iQ  be  towtd 
by  the  "  Jftimi  Htrtenu  "  out  of  Reykjavik  Harbor.  Havw 
IjgbtaBnp  all  night,^Ra  loomt  wa  <pm»  wail  char  rf 
it  wiityidcitlwlowfay  buslnhM  ww 


.i'-. 
■# 


^    M-   !    !        'j        -t  i^"l«.%^     ("j^A 


I  mmmmm 


-'■       >    ft-«  -J.-!-^      V  »f„-'S'       "J*"-fl>fV" 


IIO 


ZA  TTEJCS  FROM  HUIH  LA  TtTUDRS.      t^UI. 


doing  well— I  turned  in  foT  a  few  hours.  WKen^  I  Q^MPe^ 
on  deck  again  we  had  crostcd  the  Fajte  Fiord  t/Q.  our  way 
north,  and  were  sweeping  round  the  base  <^  Snaefell— ;MI 
extinct  vf^cano  wWh  rises  from  tl«9  sea  in  «9  icy  come  to 
the  h<M^tof  5,000  feet,  and  grimly  looks  across  to  Green?, 
land.  The  day  was  beautiful ;  the  mountain's  sttmnut 
beamed  down  upon  us  in  unclouded  splendor,  and  evefy» 
thing  seeflaed  to  promise  an  uninterrupted  view  of  the  west 


coast  of  Iceland,  abng  whose  rugged  clMb  few  mariners 
have  ever  sailed.  Indeed,  unlil  within  these  last  few  fleafs, 
the  passagie,  I  believe,  was  altogether  impracticaWe,  in 
consequence  of  the  continuous  fields  of  Ice  which  used  to 
drift  down  the  narrow  channel  between  the  froien  conti- 
nent and  the  northern  extremity  c!  the  liUand.  ^tely, 
■PM  giMt  cbMfe  iMfiia  to  havo  taken  place  in  the  He  of . 
^BrQfMnlEtM  l»  jTBid  during  iJie^ 


\ 


^'^^^e^^S^SiffS>i^ 


VIII.] 


r//£  TUMULTUOUS  OATE. 


til 


p«»s  through,  though  late  in  t&e  ypar  a  solid  belt  binds  the 
^  two  shores  toge^ier. 

But  in, a  histotical  and  ^tentific  point  of  \-<ew,  the 
whole  country  Tying  about  the  b^anite  roots  of  Snaefell  is 
mtost  interesting.  At  the  feet  of  its  southern  slopes  are  to 
be  ^een  wonderful  ranges  of  columnar  basalt,  prismatic 
caverns,  ancient  craters,  and  specimens  of  almost  ^very 
forpnation  that  can  result  from  the  a^^ncy  of  subterranean 
^res ;  while  each  glen,  and  bay,  and  headland,  ^n  the 
lU^hborhood,  teems  with  traditioni^ry  lore.  On  the  north- 
western side  of  the  mountain  stretches  the  famous  £yrbig- 
gjailist^^  the  most  classic  ground  in  Iceland,  with  the 
towns,  or  rather  farmsteads,  of  Froda,  Helgafell,  and 
Biamarhaf. 

This  last  place  was  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  curious 
Mfi  characteristic  Sagas  uT  be  found  in  the  whole  catalogue 
of  Icelandic  chronicjes^ 

In  the  da^s  when  the  same  Jarl  Hakon  I  have  already 
mentioned  lorded  it  over  Norway,  an  Icelander  of  the 
name  of  Vermund,  who  had  come  to  pay  his  court  to  the 
lord  ^  Lade,  took  a  violent  wish  to*«ngage  in  his  own  ser- 
vice a  couple  of  giganlic  Berserks,'  named  Halli  and  Leik- 
ner,  whom  the  Jarl  had  retained  about  his  person — fanc)-tAg 
that  two  champions  of  such  great  strength  and  prowess  would 
much  add  to  his  consequence  on  returning  home.  In  vajn  , 
the  Jarl  warned  him  that  personages  of  that  description  wen  * 
wont  to  give  trof  ble  and  become  unruly, — nothing  would 
serve  but  he  must  needs  carry  them  away  with  him  ;  n^»tf 
they  would  but  come,  they  might  ask  as  wages  Any  boyn 

I  B«n«rk,  A4p..  bare  aack.  The  biwrfca  aeem  to  have  been  «  d». 
seriptioa  ofatMelaa  who  ware  in  dw  kabit  of  ttimuiatinc  their  nervooa 
•acfiiea  by  the  itae  of  mim  intoxkating  drug,  which  rendered  theai 
capable  oi  fcata  of  extraordinary  atrw^th  ami  daring.  The  Beraerhar 
gang  oiMt  hav*  ba«i  aomething  vety  like  the  Malay  cvatom  olmmriiig 
anack.    Their awaati ej iirltiim  wew  Wtowad  kypetiads  si 


!5. 


.1- 


it^^fti^,' 


IIS 


lETTEitS  FROM  NJGH  LATITUDES. 


(VIIL 


which  might  be  urhis  power  to  gnuit  The  bargain  accocd 
ingly  was  made ;  but  on  arriving  in  Iceland,  the  first  thing 
Ilaili  took  into  his  head  to  require  was  ajwife,  who  should 
be  rich,  nobly  bom,  ^nd  beiutiful.  As  such  a  request  was 
difficult  to  comply  with,  VeriQund,  who  was  noted  fpr  being 
a  man  ot  gentle  disposition,  determined  to  iivk  his  troirf^ 
some  retainers  over  to  his  brother,  Amgrim  Styr.  i.e.,  the 
Stirring  or  Tu)i|ultu5ais,pne,— «s  being  a  likelier  man  thap 
himself  to  know  how  to  keep  them  in  order. 

Amgrim  ha|^ned  to  have  a  beautiful  daughter,  named 
Asdisa,  with  whom  the  inflammable  Berseric  of  course  fdl 
in  love.  Not  daiing  openly  to  refuse  him,  Amgrim  told  his 
would-be  son-in-law,  that  before  complying  with  his  suit,  he 
mittt  consult  his  friends,  and  posted  off  to  Helgafell,  where 
dwelt  the  Pagan  Pontiff  ^norre.  The  result  of  this  confer- 
ence was  an  agreement  on  the  part  <if  Styr  to  give  his 
daughter  to  the  Berserk,  provided  he  and  his  brother  Would 
tmt  a  road  through  the  lava  rocks  of  Biamarbaf.  Halli  and 
Leikaer  immediately  set  about  executing  Uiis  prodigious 
task ;  while  the  scornful  Asdisis,  arrayed  in  herroost  splendid 
attire,  came  sweeping  past  in  silence,  as  if  to  mock  their  toil. 
The  poetical  reproaches  addressed  to  the  young  lady  On  this 
occasion  by  her  sturdy  admirer  and  his  mate  are  still  extant. 
In  the  mean,  time,  the  other  servants  of  the  cnrfty  Amgriss 
had  constructed  a  subterranean  bath,  so  contrived  that  al  a 
moment's  nc^ice  it  could  be  flooded  with  bmling  watisr.^ 
Their  task  at  last  concluded,  the  two  Berserks  returned 
homt  to  claim,  their  reward ;  but  Amgrim  Styr,  as  if  in 
the  exuberance  of  hb  affection,  proposed  that  they  should 
ftist  refresh  themselves  in  the  new  bath.  No  sooimr  had 
they  descended  into  it,  that  Amgrim  shut  down  the  trap- 
door, and  having  ordered  a  newly-stripped  bullock's  hMe 
«o  be  stretched  before  the  entrance,  gave  the  signal  for  the 
boiling  water  to  be  turned  on.  Fearful  were  the  stn^g^ 
of  Mm  soddtd  liMils :  fIsHI.  Niiid-  ■Mcciiiiiii  iw  I 


.MO^^i^. 


VIILJ 


rkuXMDS  LOVEX. 


up  the  door ;  but  hU  fodl^slippesd  on  the  Woody  buir$  hide 
■ni-Alpiirtth  stabbed  him  to  th6  heart.  His  brothe^  was 
th^  enil^  forced  back  into  the  seething  #ater. 

T*hfe  •Susion  composed  by  the  Tumultuous  One  on  the 
ocCMion  of  this  exploit  is  al«o  extant,  and  does  not  yield  in 
poetical  merit  to  thoK  which  I  have  already  mentioned  ai 
haviri^r  emanated  from  his  victtnvk. 

As  soon  as  the  Pontiff  Snorre  heard  of  the  result  of  Artll 
grim  Styr's  stratagem,  he  came  over  and  married  the  Lady 
Aidisa.  Traces  of  the  road  made:  by  the  unhappy  cham- 
pions can  yet  be  detected  at  Biamarhaf,  and  t^ditien  still 
identifies  the  grave  of  the  Berserks.  / 

Connected  wUh  this  same  Pontiff  §norre  is  another^ 
thoee  mysterious  notices  of  a  great  Hind  in  the  western  09^ 
i*iqh  we  find  in  the  ancient  dironides,  so  interwoven  with 
Bwratlve  we  know  to  b«  true,  as  to  make  it  JmpouiMe  not 
to  attach  a  certain  amount  of  credit  to  them.  This  particu- 
lar atory  is  the  more  interesting  as  its  tUmmmmt,  abruptly 
hffk  in  the  blankest  mystery  by  one  Saga,  is  incldenuUy  re- 
vealed to  us  in  the  course  <rf  another,  relating  to  eventa 
with  which  the  first  had  no  connectkHi.'         / 

It  seems  that  Snorre  had  a  beautifui  sbter  named  Thured 
of  Froda,  with  whom  a  certain  gallant  gentleman— called 
Bjom,  the  son  of  Astrand— fell  head  and  ear^  in  love.  Un- 
fortunately, a  rich  rival  appears  in  th«  field  ;  and  though 
ihe  had  givew^er  heart  to  BJom,  Snorre— who,  wr  luiv* 
already  aeen.  was  a  prudent  man— insisted  upon  her  giving 
her  hand  to  his  rival.  Disgusted  by  such  treatment,  BJoru 
Mill  away  to  the  ooaats  of  the  Baltic,  and  jojns  a  farooua 
company  of  learroven,  called  the  Jomsburg  Vikings.  la 
this  worthy  society  he  so  distinguishes  himself  by  his  valor 
aMl  dariqg  that  he  obtains  the  title  of  the  Champion  of 

1  Ptamintmul  •vMwce  it  ta  certiimhat  the  chrookte  which  con. 
thcMS^  niHt hvn bwn writtm aboat tht lM«iaakii  «<  (ha 


's. 


1 14  LEtTEJtS  nOit  UtCtl  LUr/JVDES.         [VIII. 

Kretdavik.    Aft«r  many  doiq^ty  deeds,  done  \»f  wtn  mmI 
.    land,  he  at  last  returns,  loaded  with  wealth  and  honoeii  to 
his  native  country. 

In  the  sumnier*tinie  of  the  year  999,  soon  after  his  arrival 
was  held  a  great  fair  at  Froda,  whither  all  tlie  merchant*, 
"  clad  in  colored  garments,"  congre^rated  from  the  adjacent 
country.  Thither  came  also  Bjorn's  old  love,  the  Lady  of 
Froda  ;  "  and  Bjorn  went  up  and  ^poke  to  her,  and  it  wai 
thought  likely  their  talk^ would  last  \ong  since  they  for  such  s 
lei^th  of  time  not  seen  each  other."  But  to  this  renewal 
cS.  old  acquaintance  both  the  lady's  husband  and  iwr 
brother  very  much  objected  ;  and  "  it  seemed  'o  SnoiTe 
that  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  kill  Bjorn."  Sb^^bout  t'  - 
time  of  hay-making,  off  he  rides,  with  some  retainers,  to 
his  vic^tim's.home,  having  fully  instructed  one  of  them  how 
to  deal  the  first  blow.  Bjorn  was  in  the  home-field  Cthn), 
mending  his  sledge,  when  the  cavalcade  appeared  in  sight ; 
md,  guessing  what  motive  had  inspired  the  visit,  went 
straight  up  to'Snorre,  who  rode  in  front,  **  in  a  blue  cloak," 
and  held  the  knife  with  which  he  had  been  working  in  such 
a  position  as  to-be  able  to  stab  the  Pontiff  to  the  heart, 
should  Kis  followers  attemjiit  to  lift  their  hands  against  him- 
•ilf.  Comprehendii^  the  position  of  affairs,  JjKMrre't , 
friends  kept  quiet.  **  Bjorn  then  asked  the  news."  Snorre 
-..  confaM^n  that  he  had  intended  to  kill  him ;  but  adds, 
.**  Thou  tookest  such  ^  ludcygrip  of  me  at  our  meeting, 
«»firt|kat  thou  must  have  peace  this  time,  however  i?  may  havt 
been  determiiMd  before."  '1*1m  oonvertatkm  is  oondudad 
^^^an  agreement  on  the  part  of  B|oni  to  leave  the  oouMry 
asi^ feels  it'  impossible  to  abstain  from  paying  visits 
to  Iwtred  as  long  as  he  remains  in  the  neighboriMxid. 
Having  manned  a  ship,  Bjorn  put  to  sea  in  the  sumnMrrtiow. 
**  When  th«7  sailed  amqf,  a  north-east  wind  was  Uowii^ 
wMrii  wind  laMed  loi^  during  that  aumnier ;  but  of  tJrit 
ilii|i  VM  ^aHiiiiK  kwd  aiiioa  Aii  Iti^  tiiM."    And  w  «■ 


I 


'  <M.,i 


A  ^ 


-■.-A...... 


■'--■'-•'■i-"^aki. 


[i  iiiii  iWihMWiiiiiif  i  II 


r^ 


▼III.] 


CMLTfC  rXACMS. 


««s 


oondude  it  b  all  over  with  the  poor  Champion  of  Breidavik  I 
Nc^  a  bit  of  it.  He  turns  up,  thirty  3rears  afterwards,  safe 
and  sound,  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 

In  the  jrear  loa^,  a  certain  Icelander,  named  Gudlief, 
undertakes  a  vo3rage  to  Limerick,  in  Ireland.  On  his  return 
home,  1^  is  driven  out  of  his  course  by  north-east  winds, 
Heaven  knows  where.  After  drifting  for  many  days  to  the 
west-ward,  he  at  last  falls  in  with  land.  On  approaching 
the  beach,  a  great  crowd  of'  people  came  doim  to  meet  the 
strangers,  apparently  with  ik>  friendly  intentions.  Shortly 
afterwards,  a  tiJI  and  venerable  chieftain  makes  his  appear- 
ance and,  to  Gudliefs  gpat  astonishment,  addresses  him 
in  Icelandic.^  Having  entertained  the  weary  mariners  very 
honorably,  aw  supplied  them  with  provisions,  the  old  man 
bids  them  speed  back  to  Iceland,  as  it,  would  be  unsafe  for 
them  to  remain  where  they  were.  His  own  ntune  he  refused 
to  tell ;  but  having  learnt  that  Gudlief  comes  from  the 
nei^borhood  of  Snaefell,  he  puts  into  his  hands  a  sword 
and  a  rbig.  The  ring  is  to  be  given  to  Thured  ol  Froda ; 
the  sword  to  her  son  Kjartan.  When  Gudlief  asks  by  whom 
he  is  to^  say  the  gifts  are  sent,  the  ancient  chieftain  an- 
swers, **  Say  they  c<Mne  from  one  who  was  a  better  friend 
of  the  Lady  of  Froda  than  of  her  brother  Snc^re  of  Helga- 
faU."^  Wherefore  it  is  conjectured  that  this  man  was  Bjom 
the  son  of  Astrand,  Champion  of  Breidavik. 

After  this,  Madam,  I  hope  I  shall  never  hear  you  depre* 
date  the  constancy  of  men.  Hiured  had  better  have  mar- 
ried Bjcfim  after  all  t 

I  forgot  to  mention  .that  when  GudUef  landed  on  the 
strange  coast,  it  seemed  to  him  th^t  the  inhabitants  spoke 
Iftoh.  Now,  there  are  many  antiquaries  inclined  to  believe 
In  the  former  exisle^ice  of  an  Irbh  colony  to  the  southward 
if  the  Viidaad  <rf  the  Northmen.  Scattered  throt^h  the 
Safsa  are  several  notices  of  a  diMant  country  in  the  West, 
vhidi  is  nOtd  Inland  cd  If  aUa  — >  Great  Ireland,  or  the 


V 


/ 


I.'.. , 


.*-;  . 


IP 


ii6 


LETTERS  PEOm  UtGH  14 TITVDES.       [VI|I. 


■1         ( 


While  Man'i  land.  When  Pbarro  lyiKtrated  tnto  th« 
heart  of  Mexico,  a  tradition  already  extated  of  the  previous 
arrival  of  white  men  tnm  the  fiaat.  Anions  the  Shaw- 
naaee  Indiana  a  story  ia  atitl  preserved  ol  florkU  having 
been  once  inhabited  by  white  men,  who  ided  iron  instni- 
mcnts.  In  1658,  Sir  Eriand  the  Priest  had  in  his  posses-  ' 
aien  a  chvt,  even  then  thought  ancient,  of  *^  Tlw  Land  <rf 
tiie  White  Men,  or  Hibemi»  Major,  sitnated  opposite  Vin- 
land  the  Good  ; "  and  Gaelic  philologists  pretend  to  trace 
a  remarkable  affinity  between  many  of  the  American- 1 ndiaa 
dialecta  and  the  ancient  Celtic. 

Bat  to  rttwm  to  the  **  Awa."  After  passing  the  cape; 
MrajK  we  went  across  the  apadtoa  Brieda  Fhinl,  at  the  rate 
of  nine  or  ten  knots  an  hour,  reeling  and  bounding  at/tiw 
heels  of  the  steamer,  which  seemed  saucely*to  feel  how 
uneven  was  the  surface  across  which  we  were  speeding. 
Down  dropped  Snacfell  beneath  the  ae%  and  dim  befortf'na, 
dad  hi  evening  base,  roae  the  shadowy  steeps  of  Bardea- 
tand.  The  north-west  division  of  Iceland  consisU  of  one 
huge  peninsula,  spread  out  upon  the  sea  like  a  human  hand, 
the  Alters  jutft  rMching  over  the  Arctic  ciicte  ;  wiiMe  up 
between  them  run  the  gloomy  fionli,  ao«etim«i  to  the  length  . 
of  twenty,  thirty,  and  even  for^  mlhta.  Kwfitimg  more 
grand  and  mysterious  than  the  ■ppewancc  fA  their  aehaM 
portals,  as  we  paased  across  from  bWI  to  bhrf^  it  to  taipoe- 
siUe  to  conceive.  Each  afght  have  served  as  a  separate 
entrance  to  some  poM's  IteH  so  drrar  and  faul  seenwd  the 
vista  one's  eye  just  pa«git  receding  between  the  endleat 
ranks  of  precipice  an4  i^rramio. 

l^ere  is  ■nwrtiiwg,  moreova,  particuhirly  mystkal  in 
the  effect  of  the  grey,  dreamy  ateMiflwre  of  an  ar^ic  i||lil/  / 
thmiigh  whoae  uncertain  medimi  nwuntain  and  lMadlaw^«> 
to^MdpaWe  aetite  faettteaef  a  diwen  world  ;  and 

I  lnpl9Blim«l  the  i^iwmettir  gtoita,  and  roonstrotM 
1  rtratifira|ionOte|pf  il  up  along  the  coast 


•^ 


mi.] 


WALHALLA. 


Ill 


fai  cydopean  <iitorder,  I  underatood  how  natund  tt  was  tHat 

^  the  Scandinavian  myiholc^,  of  whose  mysteries  the   Ic«- 

\  landers  were  eyci;.  {Jbcs^Daiucal  fito^  and   interpreters, 

„v.jihoiild"hXve  assumed  that  broad;  massive  simplicity  which 

b  its  most   beautiful  (characteristic.    Amid  the    riigfed 

features  of  such  a  countty  the  refinements  of  Paganispn 

would  have  been  dwarfed  into  insignificance.     How  out  Of 

place  would  seem  a  Jove  with  his  beard  ifi  ringlets — a  tfim 

A|xilk>— «  sleek   Bacchus-— a^  amlwostal  Venus— a  sUm 

Diana,  and  all  theh  attemlant  groups  of  Oreads  and  Cupids 

"-Hunid  the  ocean  mists,  and  icebound  torrents,  the'  dame- 

scarred  mountains,  and  four  mjantlis'  nigh't— of  a  land  which 

the  opposing  forces  of  heat  jind  cold  have  selected  for  a 

Jbattk^ldj 

The  undeveloped  reasonii^^  faculty  is  prone  to  attach  an 
undue  value  and  meaning  to  the  forms  of  things,  and  the 
infancy  of  a  nation's  mind  is  always  more  ready  to  worship 
the  wumi/alathms  of  a  -P«Mr,  tihan  to  look  beyond  them 
fpr  a  cause.  Was  it  not  wMtarai  then  that  these  nDfthemers, 
dwelling  in  daily  cbttlMMiilon  wi^i  this  grand  Nflfeure,  shoidd 
fMwy  they  could  pwesiim  a  miysterious  and  independent 
«Mffy  in  her  ofMMli^wi ;  and  at  last  come  to  confound  the 
moral  contest  mmi  leels  within  him,  with  the  physical  strtfe 
be  finds  around  him  ;  to  see  in  the  returning  siin>-4osteriiq( 
into  tnmmi  etijiitnoi  the  winterHUiilcd  woirtd— even  misra 
than  a  (n^ef  ^t  sf^ritual  consciousness  which  dbbe  am 
heart  stir ;  to  discover  even  more  thin  an 
'  h«we«i  the  reign  of  cold,  dall^ness,  mA  deaolatkm 
and  tiM  s^l  blanker  ruin  of  a  sin  perviMted  so«l  \ .  Bst  bi 
imtinNi  ifime,,amM.sttdkJ»fu^  the  oMfikt 

fgim%  on  ««•  too  terrible— 4he  contending  powers  too  visi- 
UjF  te  pNMnee  of  each  other,  for  ^  practiciH.  conscien- 
\  mind  to  be  oonti^t  with  the  pnny  geoihipe  of  • 
Olyfiii.  Nectar,  Sa^suality,  and  Inextinguishable 
I  elements  of  foli<ity  too  mejMi  for  t^  nobler 


^■i^)^Mli^ei^\* 


CJ"' 


Ti- 


f 


..M 


»••  LETTERS  fMOM  M/GM  IdTtTUDES.       [YIU. 

• 

•tmotphere  ot  their  WathalU ;  and  to  those  active  temper- 
aments and  healthy  minds,— invigorated  and  solemniaed 
by  the  massive  mould  of  the  scenery  aiwind  them,^ 
Strength,  Courage,  Endurance,  and  above  aJl  Self^riice 
naturally  seemed  more  essential  attributes  of  divinity  than 
mere  elegance  and  beauty.    And  we  must  remember  that 
whilst  the  vigorous  imagination  of  the  north  was  delighUng 
itself  in  creating  a  stately  dreamland,  where  It  strove  to 
Wend,  in  a  grand  world-picture— always  harmoiiious,  tbot^ 
not  always  consistent— the  influences  which  sustain  both 
the  physical  and  moral  system  of  its  universe,  an  under- " 
current  ol  sober  Gothic  common  sense  induced  it— as  a 
kind  of  protest  against  the  too  material  interpretation  ef 
the  symbolism  it  had  employed— to  wind  Mp  its  religious 
scheme  by  sweeping  into  the  chaos  of  oblivion  all  the  glori- 
ous fabric  it  had  evoked,  and  proclaiming— in  the  place 
.  'Of  the  transient  goda  and  perishable  heaven  of  its  A^aaiti 
—that  One  undivided  Deity,  at  whose  approach  the  pillars 
of  Walhalla  were  to  fall,  and  Odin  and  his  pe^rs  to  perish, 
with  all  the  subtle  machinery  of  their  existence ;  while  man 
—himself  immortal— was  summoned  to  receive  at  the  hands 
of  the  Eternrf.  A U-Fath«r  the  sentence  that  waited  upon  his 
deedfc    It  is  true  thb  purer  system  belonged  only  to  the 
early  ages.    As  In  the  case  of  every  false  religion,  the  sym- 
bolism of  tl»e  Scandinavian  mythology  lost  with  each  aw 
^C«eding  generation  something  of  its  transparency,  andtt 
1^1  dfgenerated  into  a  gross  superstition.    But  traces  still 
f«nained,  even  down  tt>  the  times  ol  Chrittian  ascendency, 
of  the  deep,  phllo«>|>hlciil  spirit  in  which  it  had  been  origi. 
nally  conceived  ;  and  through  its  homely  imagery  there  ran 
a  vein  of  tender  humor,  such  as  still  characterises  the 
warm-hearted,  laughtor-kiving  northern  races.    OftMsmidf 
Jme  of  philosophy  and  fun,  the  following  itory  ii  no  bad 


lelh  Igr  Hm  NawlHi  sad  Mr.  TtMr^. 


Ht'''^,v 


r-X^V^   -,    --gr'f^Sf'-   ™>«lf.i»3lt     "Tift  tii         Y'^'t^^S?^    ^a-""     VI  y     . 

» 


{ 


■9i 


VIII.]        rAOTir  yOUMNEY  TO  JOIUNHEtM,       ■-.-  St^ 

Ooce  on  a  time  the  two  GEtir,  Tlujr,  tiie  Thundei  god. 
jpnd  his  hrother  Lopt,  attended  by  a  servant,  determined  to 
go  eastward  to  Jotunheim,  the  land  oi  the  giants,  in  search 
el  wlventures.  Crossing  over  a  great  water,  they  came  to 
•  desolate  plain,  at  whose  further  end,  tossing  and  ««ving 
in  the  wind,  rose  the  tree  tops  of  a  great  forest.  After' 
journeying  for  many  hours  along  its  dusty  labyrinths,  they 
b^gan  to  be  anxious  about  a  resting-place  for  the  night 
^.  **  At  last,  L<q>t  perceived  a  very^spacibus  house,  on  one  side 
'of  which  was  an  entrance,  as  wide  as  the  house  itself ;  and 
there  they  took  up  their  night-quarters.  At  midnight  they 
perceived  a  great  earthquake ;  t^  grc^nd  reeled  under  them 
ind  the  house  shook. 

».  "Then  up  rose Thor ai^  called' to ^is companions.  Tliey 
•oui^t  about,  and  found  a  side  building  to  the  r^(ht,  into 
which  they  went.  Th6r  placed  himself  at  the  door,  the  rest 
went  and  sat  down  further  in,  and  were  very  much  afraid.  ' 

**Thorkept  his.  hammer  Jn  his  hand,  ready  to  <Mend 
them.  Then  they  heard  a  terrible  noise  and  roaring.  Aa 
it  began  to  dawn,  Thor  went  out,  and  saw  *  man  lyinf  in 
the  wood  not  far  from  Ihem  ;  he  was  by  no  means  small, 
and  he  slept  and  snored  loudly.  Then  Thor  understood 
'  what  the  noise  was  which  they  heard  in  the  night.  He 
buckled  mi  hia  belt  of  power,  by  which  helmcreaacd  his 
divine  strength.  At  the  same  insunt  the  man  awoke,  and 
rose  up.  It  ii  said  that  Thor  was  so  much  astonished  that 
he  did  not  dare  to  slay  him  with  bis  hammer,  bi|t  Inquired 
hb  name.  He  called  himself  Skryroer.  *  Thy  name,'  said 
Im,  '  I  need  not  aak,  for  I  know  that  thou  art  Asar>Th«'. 
But  what  hast  thou  done  with  my  glove  f ' 

**  Skrymer  stooped  and  took  up  his  glove,  and  Thor 
•aw  that  it  was  the  house  in  which  they  had  passed  tilt 
night,  and  that  the  out-buildii^  was  the  thumb." 

Htfft  follow  incidents  which  do  not  differ  widely  fro« 


5i 


That  makes  three  several  atttmpto  to  knock  out  the  •uf' 


tVv  •tfT^i  u   k jfe  . 


A.  i.  \taila  USid^^xSi 


^•^       ^T?M-^*!!!^MM^^  pan. 

goiat  l*Ws  lynOns  doriof  a  ilutnbtr,  ia  which  h«'  b  i«p. 
ratealed  at  '*  inoriin^  otttra8eou»iy/'«-«iid  after  eadi  Mow 
«f  the  Thunder  god's  hammer,  Skrymer  merely  wakes  up 
— atraliesJiis  bterd— and  c^plaial  of  feelinf  some  tri- 
fliag  inconvenience,  such  as  a  dropped  acorn  on  his  head, 
a  fallen  leaf,  or  a  little  moss  shaken  from  tile  boughs. 
Finally,  he  takes  leave  of  them,— points  out  the  way  to 
Utgard  Loke's  palace,  advises  tliem  not  to  give  themselvaa 
airs  at  his  f6urt,~-«s  unbecoming  "such  little  fellows"  as 
they  were,  and  disappears  in  the  wood  ;  "  and  "—as  the 
old  chronicler  slyly  adds— «'  it  is  not  said  whether  the  (Esir 
wished  ever  to  ate  him. Hiain.''. 

Thay  then  journeyed  on  till  noon  j  till  they  came  to  a 
vast  palace,  where  a  multitude  of  men,  of  whom  tbe  great- 
tr  number  were  immensely  large,  sat  on  two  benches. 
*•  After  this  they  advanced  into  the  presence  of  the  king, 
Ulgaid  Loke,  and  salntad  him.  He  scarcely  deigned  to 
five  a  look,  and  saM  smiling :  « It  ia  late  to  inquiia  after 
true  tidings  from  a  great  distance  ;  but  is  it  not  Thor  that 
I  see  ?  Yet  you  are  really  Mggar  than  I  imagined.  What 
an  the  axploita  that  you  can  perform  ?  For  no  one  is  tol- 
acalad  amongst  us  who  cannot  distiaguish  himself  by  soma 
Mt  or  ac«offi|Mishment.' 

*•  'Then,'  saki  Lopt,  'I  understand  an  art  of  which  f 
am  prepared  to  give  proof ;  and  that  is,  that  no  one  here 
can  dispose  of  hia  fo  jd  as  I  can.'  Then  answered  Utgaid 
Lokaj  •Truly  this  i^ an  art,  if  thou  canst  achieve  it; 
wlifck  we  will  now  sec.'  He  called  from  the  bench  a  man 
■anad  Loge  to  contend  with  Lopt.  They  set  a  trough  in 
Ike  middle  of  the  hall,  tilled  with  meat.  Lopt  placed  him- 
•alf  at  OM  end  and  Loga  at  the  other.  Both  ato  the  beat 
Ibay  could,  and  they  awt  in  the  nUddle  of  the  trai«h. 
Lopt  had  pk:kad  the  oMat  froaa  tht  hoMi^  hat  Lofe  had 
•aton  meat,  boMa,lid  troi«h  altogilhit.  Alt  i«f«ed  Upt 
was  baatan.  Than  kakad  Uigard  Loka  what  art  the  prn^ 


i  * 


fe'-'^'i^^ti^' 


MXQ rjmrs  y&irjt^  to  jotvnmbim.       iti 

nan  (Thor's  •ttenduit)  ttnctertlood?  Thjalfc  antwettd. 
that  he  would  run  a  race  with  any  one  that  Utgard  Lok» 
would  .appoint.  There  was  a  very  good  race  ground  on  a^ 
level  flal^.  Utgard  Loke  called  a  young  man  named 
Hm^e,  and  bad<rhim  run  with  Thjalle.  Thjatfe  nini.his 
beat,  at  three  leverml  attempt*— according  to  received 
8«p!  ontoms,— 4Mt  is  of  course  beaten  in  the  race. 

<*Then  asked  Utgard  Loke  of  Thor,  w.iat  were  the 
fnte  that  he  would  attempt  corresponding  to  the  fame  that 
went  abroad  of  him  ?  Thor  answered  that  he  thought  he 
«fttld  beat  an)^ie#drinking.    Utgard  Loke  said,  •  Very 

Sxl ;  *  and  yMw  cup-bearer  bring  out  the  horn  from 
^  '^  ^'4PP^^*'*'^  accustomed  to  drink.  Immedi- 
•lely  appeai^%  cup-bearer,  and  placed  the  horn  in 
Thor's  hand.  Utgard  Loke  then  said,  *  that  to  empty  that 
horn  at  one  pull  was  well  done  ;  some  drained  it  at  twice  ;  ,. 
but  that  he  was  a  wretched  drinker  who  coukl  not  finish  it 
at  the  third  draught'  Thor  looked  at  the  horn,  and  - 
thought  that  it  was  not  laige,  though  it  was  tolerably  loi«. 
He  was  very  thirsty,  lifted  it  to  his  mouth,  and  was  v«y 
happy  at  the  thought  of  so  good  a  draught.  When  he 
could  drink  no  more,  he  took  the  horn  from  hU  mouth, 
and  aaw,  to  his  astonishment,  that  there  was  little  leas  in 
if  than  btfore.  Utgavd  Loke  saki:  'Wed  hatt  Own 
dnmk,  yet  not  much.  I  should  never  have  believed  but 
that  Asar-Thor  could  have  drunk  more  j  however,  of  this 
I  am  confident,  thou  wilt  empty  it  at  the  second  time.' 
He  drank  agMH;  hut  whan  he  took  away  the  horn  from 
hia  mouth,  it  aeemtd  to  him  that  It  had  aunk  less  this 
time  than  the  first;  ytt  the  horn  might  now  be  carried 
withoat  spilling.  ^" 

«tkinaald  Utgard  LokAi    'Rowis  lMa,TI|err    II 
Ikmi  doit  Mt  iwanra  thyself  porpoMly  for  the  tW^,,^ 
draught,  thine  honor  must  be  lost ;  how  canst  tlwy^  l£^^ 
la  a  great  maa.  m  im  Clakr  laah  mp—  i^m  J 


--*      ---*"" 


i  l±,^Vj->ii^.t*.llw,M.4i?^^l-Ul?5^1 


^^         '',      *      *  "*■    .J    ' 


'  ,*="  -T^  *v  *,  ~-  v°^*'^^  "^  *fl(g!^T*4-^j 


^p 


■•• 


f- .' 


tiMMi  ^t  not  dittiQgttiab  d^ncif  in  otlitr/imis  mon  tlMa 
tlMtthMt  done  in  this  r*  - 

•*  l^wi  WM  Thor  angry,  put  the  horn  tt>  his  mouth  gk 
ownk  iHth  ell  his  inight*  and  strained  himself  to  the  ut*  ^ 
roost ;  and  when  he  bolced  into  the  horn  it  was  now  soi^ 
what  leiuiened.  He  gave  up  the  horn,  and  would  Wot  drink 
anymor«.  '  Now,' aaid  Uigard  Loke, « now  is  it  dear  that 
thy  strength  is  not  so  great  as  we  supposed.  Wilt  thou  try 
^  some  other  |ame,  for  we  see  that  thou  canst  not  succeed 
In  this  ?  •  Thor  answered :  « I  will  now  try  something  else ; 
btttl  wonder  who,  amongst  the  CEsir,  would  call  that  a  li^ , 
tie  drifk  I    What  play  will  you  propose  r 

"  Utgard  Uke  answered :  ♦  Young  men  think  it  mere 
play  to  lift  my  cat  from  the  ground  ;  and  I  would  never 
have  proposed  this  to  (fisir  Thor,  If  I  did  not  rperceive 
that  thou  art  a  much  less  mfcn  than  I  had  thought  thee  I 
Thereupon  sprang  an^ncommonly  gpeat  grey  oat  upon  the 
floor.  Thor  advanced,  took  the  cat  round  the  botty,  and 
lifted  it  up.  The  cat  bent  its  bick  in  the  same  degree  as 
Thor  Mfted  j  and  wl^n  Thor  had  lifted  one  of  its  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  wait  not  able  to  lift  it  any  higher,  said 
lAgard  Loke :  •  Tlie  game  has  terminated  Just  as  2  ex- 
pected.  The  cat  is  very  great.  «nd-Thor  is  low  and^smalU 
compared  with  the  great  men  who  are  here  with  us.'  'N 
"Then  said  Thor :   'Little  aa  you  call  me,  I  challenge 

•nyoneto«^»sUewithme,lornowlamaivy.'  U^ml 
Lokcanswered,  lookii^  round  upon  tlie  benches :  <  I  sea 
no  one  here  who  would  not  deem  it  play  to  wrestle  with 
thtt  i  btit  let  lis  call  hither  the  old  Ella,  ray  nurse  ;  irith 
her  shall  Thor  prove  hb  strti«th,  If  he  will.  She  has  given 
Mti^^e  a  fall  who  appeared  for  atroi«er  than  Thor  la.'  . 
On.  wit  Iktii  Mltied.tiMi  hall  an  old  woman  ;  and  UtganI 
ltk»  mM  ikt^  emttW  wiesUe  with  Thoi^  In  short,  the 
oontest  went  so,  ^t  the  mote  Thor  exerted  himself,  the 
*      "  the  stood  ;  and  now  began  the  old^Honan  to  emrt 


/J&fd"/,-- 


V^III 

tluui 

KMlth 

»  at- 

t 

looie- 

irink 

that 

u  try 

Bite; 

•  lit- 

■  - 

mere 

• 

«ver 

'eive 

leel 

tlM 

, 

•nd 

S  M 

ivhh 

Mid 

•«• 

Mil, 

* 

-=x_ 

•»!• 

' 

:ard 

■'.r 

■M 

( 

Htb 

i^th 

ven 

• 

la.'  . 

«rd 

tiM 

tlM 

wrt 

VliL]       TBOMrsyoUitUMY  TO  ypTU/WEIM.  n$ 

ImtmU;  twl  Thor  to  give  way,  pnd  wv«re  stniggKis  (ol- 
IoimnI.  It  WM  not  long  bdore  Thor  was  brought  dovni  on 
one  kn«e.  Then  Utgard  ^ke  stei^pad  forward,  bade 
them  ceaae  the  ttruggle,  and  said  that  Thor  ihould  at- 
Ipnpt  nothing  more  at  his  court  It  was  now  drawing  u>- 
wards  nigiiri  Utgard  Lake  showed  Thor  and  his  com* 
panions  their  lodging,  where  they  were  well  acocmmo- 
dated. 

**  As  eoon  as  it  was  light  the  neat  morning,  up  row 
Thor  and  his  companions,  dressed  themselves,  and  pra> 
pared  to-set  out.  Then  came  Utgard  toke,  ami  ordered 
the  ttd>le  to  be  set,  where  there  wanted  no  good  provisions, 
either  meat  or  drink.  When  they  had  breakfasted,  they  set 
out  on  their  way.  Utgard  Loke  accompanied  them  out^pf 
die  castle ;  Imt  at  parting  he  asked  Thor  Imw  the  journey 
had  gone  off ;  whether  he  had  found  any  n^an  more  mighty 
than  himself?  Thor  answered,  that  thib  enterprise  had 
brought  him  much  dishonor,  it  was  not  to  be  denied,  and 
that  he  must  eslpem  himself  a  man  of  no  tfccount,  whteh 
mich  mortified  hitoi.     ^  *  '  ' 

«*  Uigaid  Loke  replied :  « Now  wttl  I  ttU  thM  the  truth, 
since  thou  art  out  of  my  castle,  where,  so  long  as  I  live 
and  reigiv  thou  shalt  never  re-enter ;  ami  whitiier,  believa 
tte,  thou  hadst  never  come  if  i  had^  known  befoM  whit 
might  .thou  possessest,  and  that  thou  woukbii  so  nearly 
plui^  us  into  great  trouble.  False  appesrrances  ha^  I 
OHftUd  for  thee,  so  that  the  first  time  when  thou  mette^ 
im  «an  in  the  wood  it  was  I  j  and  wiien  thou  wouldsl 
optn  tl^  proviaionHMdt,  I  had  laced  it  together  with  an 
iron  band,  so  that  thou  couldst  not^find  the  moans  to 
undo  it  .  After  that  thou  struckest  at  me  three  timfl-wtth 
the  hammer.  The  first  stroke  was  the  weakest,  hud. 
It  had  been  my  death  had  it  hit  me.  Thiou  M'ifest  by  i|^ 
«tille  a  rock,  with  three  deep  equare  holes,  i^f  which  om 

rtwHiy  nanimer.    •ww' 


A 


i 


j,iW^^  it    i  ^ 


"N  ^TtMS  n^  MmM  LATttVOMS.        [Vltt. 

iw*  f  |a«>rf  to  tfce  1^  ol  ^  Wow,  wWhw 
oviviafiL   .  "^  "^ 

^  ••*8o«l».j  ^'^  gUMs,' yhen  thou  contendodsl  with 
mg  courtiers.  lo  When  Lopt  iMde  Us  eMA^,  Iht  fact  wit 
this:  he  was  very  hungry,  Iwd  «te  vonuHootly;  but  Iw 
•ho  WMcdIed  Lofe,  wtt>f,  which  consumed  the  treurii  t 
••  well  as  the  meat.  Awl  Huge  (mind)  was  my  tkmuM 
with  wMeh  ThJMie  ran  a  race,  and  it  was  imposilble  far 
him  to  match  it  in  apewl.    When  thou  d^kest  from  the 

'»"».*ndthoughtest  that  ito  contents  grew  no  lee^  it  was, 
notwithstanding,  a  great  marvel,  such  as  I  never  believed 

oould  have  taken  place.  The  one  end  oif  the  horn  stood  to 
the  aea,  whi^h  thou  didst  not  perceive ;  and  when  thou  com- 
tjttothe  shore  thou  wilt  see  how  much  the  ocean  has  dimin- 
iihrt  by  what  thou  hast  drunk:    Mm  wiU  tmUlit  tkt  M, 

*Further'said  he.  'mott  remarkable  did  it  seem  t» 
■••that  thou  liftedst  the  eat.  and  in  truth  all  became  terri-    * 
Red  when  they  saw  that  thou  liftedst  one  of  its  leet  from 
the  ground.    For  it  was  no  car,  a»  it  seemed  unto  thM,  but 
the  great  serpent  thnt  lies  coiled  round  the  world.  Scarcely 
had  hotongth  that  his  tail  and  head  might  reach  the  earth, 
••dthou  liftedst  him  so  high  up  that  it  fas  but  a  little  way 
to  heaven.    That  was  a  marvdlous  vhrestling  that^hou 
wntOedst  with  Ella  (old  age),  for  nevjtr  has  thw«  been 
VKf  one,  nor  shall  there  ever  be,  let  Mm  approach  wh« 
p»«t  age  ha  will,  that  Ella  shall  not  overcome. 

"  •  Now  we  muat  part,  and  It  Is  bait  fof  US  on  both  aidai 
Itel  you  do  not  often  come  to  me ;  but  if  it  ahouldao  ha» 
^mil  fhall  defend  my  castle  with  such  other  arts  that 
yo^i  fball  not  be  able  to  effect  anythii«  against  me.' 

*^  When  Thor  heard  this  discourse  he  grasped  his  ham- 

jfar  and  Mft^l  It  into  the  air,  bttt  aa  ha  waa  about  to  strika 
l-iawUtgard  Loke  nowhaiv.  than  Ih  iwned  baak  to 
toa  oaatta  todestroy  it,  and  bb  saw  oidy  a  beautiful  mk 
«liiptoto.biMM,-Mila.' 


\      s 


So  twij  tiM  tibry  of  Thor'*  jburiMy  to  Jotunhcim. 

It  wu  now  juft  utMli  the  stroke  of  midnight.  Wmn 
htoce  leaving  England,  m  each  four-and-twenty  hourt  «• 
Climbed  up  nearer  to  the  pole,1he  belt  of  |hiak  divklinf 
day  from  day  had  been  growing  narrower  moA  narrower, 
witU  having  nearly  reached  the  Arctic  dW^le,  thiir-4o 
laat  n|[ht  we  were  to  tri^'erM.T-had  dwindl«i>  a  thr«ad 
of  alMdow,  Only  anojther  half-dosen  leagues  >nore,  and 
we  wojild^Mand  on  the  threshold  of  a  four  montha'  day  I 
For  Ihe  few  preceding  hours  clouds  had  completely  cover- 
ed (^  heavens,  except  where  a  clear  interval  of  sky,  that 
lay  aloiHE  the  northern  horizon,  pcomiaed  a  glowing  stage 
^  the  aun's  last  obsequies.  But  4ike  thje  heroes  of  old  he 
had  veiled  his  face  to  die,  and  it  was  not  until  he  dropped 
down  to  the  sea  that  the  whole  hemisphere  overflowed  with 
glory  and  the  gilded  pageant  concerted  for  his  funeral 
l^tliered  in  slow  procession  round  his  grave ;  rcmindini 
one  of  thoae  tardy  honors  paid  to  some  great  prince  of 
song,  whor-kift  during  IMe  to  languish  in  a  gamt— is 
buried  by  nobles  in  Westminster  Abbey.  A  few  minutos 
more  the  last  fiery  segment  had  disappeared  beneath  the 
jpurple  horiton,  and  all  was  over. 

''The  k^ng  is  dead— the  king  is  dead^the  king  ladsMl  t 
Long  live  the  king  t "  And  upfrom  ttie  sea  that  had  just 
entombed  his  sire^  rose  the  young  monarch  of  a  new  d^  j 
wfiile  the  courtier  clouds,  in  their  ruby  robes,  turned  faoa» 
still  aglow  with  the  favors  of  their  dead  lord,  fo  bonmv 
bri^ter  blaionry  from  the  smile  (4  •  new  master, 

A  lalfferora  stranger  spectacle  than  tkn  bwl  Aretk 
iWMtt  eannot  well  be  conceived  :  Evening  and  Mornii^te 
like  kinsmen  whose  hearts  some  baseless  feud  hfs  kepi 
asunder-naasping  hands  acroaa  Mm  thndow  ol  Hm  va» 

"  night 

You  must  foifive  wm  U  sometimM  Mnowi  a  llttk 
;nHoquent 


■1 


"T" 


11^ 


Utl 


^_v\ 


prinrnvnl  world,  it  wm  alniMt  impossible  to  pravent  om's 
Jnsglnation  from  stMorbing  «  dash  of  the  locsl  colorin.. 
We«je»ed  to  have  suddenly  wsked  up  among  the  colo«iiu 
•wwiy  «f  Kests'  Hyperi  i.  The  pulses  of  young  Titans 
beat  withm  our  veins.  Time  ltstl|,-Hio  loiwljtt^ 
down  into  paltry  divi.ions.-^,ad  assumtd  km^  ^Z^ 
Mpect.  We  had  the  appeUte  of  giants~wa«  it  unnatural 
i«jhould  also  adopt  "the  laite  u«ira.w:e  of  tiie  early 

A.the^''iP«>^/fcr/mr*"couldnotcafryoosJssu«lcieiit 
for  the  entire  voyage  we  had  set  out  upon,  ii  had  been  w 

ranged  that  the  steamer  -&$jcm"  should  accompany  her 

M  »  iwder.  and  the  Onunder  Fiord,  on  the  north-west 

eoast  of  the  island,  had  been  appointed  as  the  place  of 

»»nd«voM*.    Sua.l«i,ly  wheeling  round  therefore  to  the 

right  we.quitted  the  opoti  Wa,  ami  di  ed  down  a  long  grey 

lene  of  water  that  raiiUn  an^r  a«  iht  eye  co^ild  reach  be- 

tween  two  lofty  rangei  of  porjhyij^  and  amygdaloid.    The 
conformation  of  these  mountaim  was  most  curious:  it 
looked  as  if  the  whole  district  was  Ihe  effect  of  some  pro- 
dIgkHis  crystallUatlon.  so  geometrical  was  ihe  outline  of 
Mch  particular  hill,  sometimes  rising  cube-Jlke,  or  penta- 
lonal.  but  Himt  generally  built  up  into  a  perfect  pyramid, 
whh  stair*  mo.mhng  In  equal  gradations  to  the  summit! 
Were  and  there  the  coiie  of  the  pyramid  would  be  shaven 
OH,  leaving  it  flat  topp«,l  like  a  Babylonian  altar  or  Max- 
iMi)  tioealll  i  and  as  the  sun's  level  rays,-.hootlng  scroti 
above  our  heads  In  golden  rafters  from  ridge  to  ridge  ~ 
smote  brighter  on  some  loftier  p«Ut  behind,  you  mMit 
almo«t  fancy  you  beheld  the  blait  of  sacriAciai  fires,    tli. 
ptcttllar  symmetrical   appMraiMe  of  these  rocks  arises 
from  the  fact  of  their  being  built  up  In  layers  of  trap,  al- 
tjmatUigwlth  Neptunian  beds  J  Hit  dlsinteratlng  tetloii^ 
of  snow  and  frost  on  the  more  exposed  Mrata  \m^  g^ 
waMy  carved  their  sidMiotofll^   - 


"7 


..# 


-!^- 


J 


JiSt^-!i^idiiiai£iii^.;itM  ^ 


^ 


VIII.] 


ONUNPMM  FiOJtD. 


»«7 


It  Is  in  thete  N«ptuiiUn  bads  that  the  {amous  MiKur< 
brand  is  found,  a  species  of  bituminous  timber,  black  and 
shining  lilu  pitch  eoalj  but  whether  belonging  to  the 
common  carboniferous  sjFSfem,  or  formed  from  ancient 
drift-wood,  is  stiil  a  point  of  dispute  among  theieanied. 
In  tills  neighborhood  considerable  quantities  both  of  lerlite 
and  chabasite  Aie  also  found,  but,  generally  speaking,  Ice- 
land is  less  rich  U\^  minerals  than  one  would  suppose ; 
opal,  calcedony,  amethyst,  malachite,  oMdian,  agate,  and 
feldspar,  being  the  principal.  Of  sulphur  the  supply  is  in^ 
•slM'«««tiUe. 

After  steaming  dbt^rtbr  several  hours  between  these 
terraced  hilts,  wejitiast  reached  the  extremity  of  the  fiord, 
where  we  fouj«dthe  "  Smi0h  "  looking  like  a  black  sea- 
dragon  coiled  up  at  the  bottom  of  hiiden.    Up  fluttered  a 
•ignal  to  the  mast-head  of  the  corvette,  and  blowing  off  her 
staam,  she  wore  round  upon  her  heel,  to  watch  tlie  ^flecta 
i;  •f  h*'  summons.    As  if  roused  by  the  challenge  of  an  iiw 
truder,  the  sleepy  monster  seemed  suddenly  to  bestir  itself, 
and  th«i|  pouring  out  volumes  of  sulphureous  breath,  set 
out  with  many  an  angiy  snort  in  pursuit  of  the  raah  troub- 
ler  of  its  solitude.    At  least,  such  I  am  sure,  might  have 
been  the  notion  of  the  poor  peasant  Inhabitants  of  two  or 
three  cottages  I  saw  scattered  here  and  there  along  the 
loch,  as,  startled  from  tbair  sla«p,  they  listened  to  the 
stertorous  breathing  of  the  long  «nakelike  .ihips,  and 
watclMd  them  glide  past  with  magic  motion  along  the 
grassy  surface  of  the  water.    Of  course  the  novelty  and 
excitement  of  all  we  had  bean  witnesaing  had  put  sleep  and 
bedtime  quite  out  of  oiif  thoughts:  but  it  was  already  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  j  it  would  require  a  considerable 
Hme  to  get  out  of  the  fiord,  and  in  a  few  hours  after  we 
•houid  be  within  the  Arctic  circle,  so  that  if  we  were  to 
•ay  sloep  ft  all<-*now  was  the  time.    Acting  on  these 
liMalii 


M. 


^, 


mnaBiiiliri  ii    I 


^^'.S^\  '  15  ^'-^  lAsv 


LUti  &  s 


, -/ii     ^'J^ 


^(^j 


«jy J  «»•  tbeniMNMttr  mt  .t  ;••,  /md  Jt  really  felt  more 
•^  ••  wm  eroeeini  tike  line  th«i  entertag  Ike  fHgid 


^^Tl^  iy»»»««i^  iiWlnrtlmi  which  Indueet  th«n 
•^••fUeoleyerytWnt.  thtrienchomcer.,  IteppeerwI. 

IlSif  In  !S  "•  '  '*'"*'  •*  *^*^  *»  *«««f«iirtMr 
!?l!tT.^^'i^"'  ^^'P''^^'  '"^  the  httcr/cene^k 
2f!iri    tiw  ^"^  ***  ***•'  '"  futherenc^of  ihii  Uud- 

•t.«Jh  «Mlhe.d  of  ,he  Frenchmen,  the  lucky  i^l  ocZ 
r^me  to  dreee  the  m/|^  «  |«  ,„  her  ^1?^ 
y^r;;  toilette  iicc«wp||.hed,  I  mn%  on  baerH^tht 
h^HaaaH^"  *"**  you  cennot  imeirine  enythlnff  mofo 
t^dtf^''*'******^*^'  *'*•"  »»•'  .ppeerencc.  from 
^9      \t  *^*«^«^-^  ihe  curtifed  end  .w.yed  htr- 

WrtW  up  the  water  with  her  eurvinff  bowe.    »km  ^.n. 

kicked  like  •  living  iittl«  Udy.  '  J^  "'•''^ 

»itfr««  til  iunh  complecenl  r«v«ri«i  I  m,  .oon 

«^MM  ^tne  eound  of  •  deep  voice,  prooewUng  •||p«^ 

in  lit  MiM  iiit^«rittti¥tiMMifr,  mmI  ^Trtfliili  inmj 


^iw  '^■^npp'^i5wgF"''y*'^^ 


▼III.] 


^iM  PMMM  AMCnqUM,' 


m 


•J*w  nMM,  wImm  ihe  wm  gok^  wImm  ilii  nirM,  Md 
iMsn  iN  MM  1/  to  all  wMchfimHom,  •  ymu^  liadttii* 
y**ff<%  «^*h  h*i  hat  off  4t  tiM  gangway,  politeW  fi« 
•ptMled.  Apparantiy  aatiallMl  on  theaa  poinm,  tmr  invjiUlto 
iatoriBomur  than  anoouticad  his  inlonllon  of  comii|if  en 
All  m  oAonn  of  Um  iM^  eolft0«|  on  IJM  p^ 
..>        ■       ~"' — +---'- — 


In'  a  raw  aeoonda  mm^jmM  iIm  (ttn  o(  tha  moat  an- 
wrthly  OMiaic,  and  aurrouMlid  by  a  bevy  of  kMai«i  «io»> 
•tort,  a  whitabaaniad.  apactaclad  pmonHiy  tilati  in 
totrakln,  wMi  a  eodtod  hat  ov«r  his  iaft  aar— praoantod 
^hWialf  In  tha  fangway,  and  handing  to  the  oAoaiaoftht 
w«ch  an  anoni^  hMi<\n  which  waa  written. 


**  LE  PfcRE  ARCTIQUB," 


H  wqr  of  vUtlng  caid,  proeaidid  to  walk  aft,  and  taka 
Iha  aiNi'a  aHitoda  with  what,  aa  far  as  t  could  maha  o«t, 
iaawad  to  ha  a  phimber's  wooden  tHangle.  This  pralimi* 
aary  ofMration  htving  been  completed,  there  than  began  a 
ragMlar  riot  all  over  the  ship.  The  yards  wtta  suddenly 
MMMd  with  wd  devils,  black  monkayi,  and  evitry  kind  of 
•Wlinai  moMter,  white  tlie  whole  ship'* company,  ottean 
9ad  men  promisctiously  mingled,  danced  the  cancan  Mpmi 
tfiik.  In  order  tMt  the  warmth  of  the  day  ihould  not 
Make  us  forget  thA  wa  had  arrivwi  in  his  dominions,  thi 
Arctic  father  ITad  stationed  certain  of  his  familiars  in  tha 
,  «bp  at  stated  intervals  Aung  down  showers  tf  hard 
#  typical  of  Mi,  while  the  powdering  of  each  olher'a 
with  handfnis  of  flour  ooiild  not  fail  to  remind  every, 
bodyaiibaard  thalwahid  rawthMl  the  latitudaaf 

At  the  commehcemiint  of  thia  nnjay  jtotital  I ... 

•tending  on  the  hurticftno  jloek,  next  to  oat  of  tiw 
]  to  tMI  M^aiRitoimdM)  seemed  to 


•»is 


i   '*• 


M 


•!•        iMtrmts  Mom  iUGH  tJiTtrvoMs.     [viii. 

yw  tocowwkwto  the  gaiety  d(^  Folly.    Suddenly  Im 
^^^mfffMnA  from  iMiMt  mt*,  «iidiiie  next  ilut  I  mw  or 

fciiiid  ol  hta^-fct  WM  li<wl  •!  woA  pIroyetUng  on  tlw  ^ 
Wow  with  a  rt^iled  demon.  ^  Mhibiting  in  iUt  Mop* 
«  ••  verve  "  «nd  a  graceful  audftciiy  which  at  AtHi  wAiild 
have  certainly  obtained  fnr  l^m  the  honors  of  mpMon 
•I  the  hands  of  the  municipal  autlioriiieit,    'ITie  ■nUrtain 
MMitoftheAiyooiwhiiMltMth  t  discourse  dd^lvMttl  out 
of  a  wind-taTTby  the  chapUin  attached  loifw  pMiwi  if  the 
P»»re  Arctique,  which  wa/  afterward* '  washed  down  bf  a 
cauldron  full  of  grog.  aerVed  out  in  bumpem  to  the  sevural 
Mtortin  this  unwonted  cerMuonial.     As  the  prince  had 
bjtn  good  enough  to  ihvite  us  to  dinner,  instead  of  rMum 
Ml  to  llie  schooner  ^spenl  the  intermediate  hour  in  padng 
the  <^#ter^eck  with  Uaroii  de  U  Roncikre,— the  naval 
comfliandcr  entrusted  with  the  charge  of  tlie  expedition. 
Uke  all  the  smartest  oAoers  in  the  Frmieh  navy,  he  spealci 
KwRlish  beautiftfUy,  and  I  shall  ever  ramemher  with  grati- 
tude  the  Mwdi^ity  with  whieh  he  wefcomed  me  on  boiwd 
hi*  ship,  and^he  thoughtful  coniidflralJon  of  his  arraa^ 
ments  for  tl^  little  schooner  which  he  had  taken  in  tow. 
At  Ave  o'el^k  dinner  was  announcwi.  t^  \  quMition  if  so 
Aumptumi*  a  banquet  haa  evor  bttfi  ^wrvod  up  befon  in  ' 
th^t  outlandish  part  of  the  world,  ^mhelHshed  as  it  was  by 
•^•etlQhs  frotii  the  best  operas  playc<l  by  llien»r//«'tffw|Mr> 
*v  wl^oh  had  accompanied  the  Prince  frtw  Fsris.    Uurii« 
the  phuses  of  the  music  the  eonversatian  naturally  turned 
on  Ihft  strange  lands  we  were  about  to  visit,  and  the  boat 
iiH»d«  of  spMlieating  the  white  bears  who  were  prabaMf 
•mwiy  shaking  ip  their  snow  »hoes  t  but  alas  I  while  «• 
fmn  to  ibe  vtry  iiet  ofeauliing  in  our  mpnimauy  over  thttt 
«iw  domains,  the  stiAin«i  ftnger  of  the  tee  king  wta  tni> 
ihl  ta  fi»Mii  ibMiMlwa  a  "  llwii,  mmio,  tekel  upharsto  •» 
MIkiplMtfliiiofilMMMitwMMi.    JDiMim  me  kMl 


^y>■■ 


VUL] 


IMS  MMMS  aUCI4LMS, 


ij» 


balf4MMr.fb«  therinooMtcr  \aA  bMn  gradually  Mliiig.  until 
ilVM  a^y  down  to  jf  *  ;  a  d«n»e  penetrating  fog  nnvelop- 
•d  Mil  Mie  vtM«l»Hihe*'  Hnxm  "  lm\  long  nimo  dropped 
out  of  sight),  flaket  o(  »now  Ixtgan  floaUng  ilowly  down,  and 
a^  gelid  breeie  firmn  the  nortbwMt  lold  too  plaUiiy  tliat  m 


UlA4Atf  W  liMk  laaMk*^ 

•WMw^lt.  WO  WWfw 

American  shore. 

jimate  w^/had 

umler  preaent 

tondaaour 

and  ice  in  the 


had  reached  the  fronliara  of  tb« 
Kliil  a  good  hundred  milcii  di 
,  Although  at  any  other  lime  t 
dived  inta  would  have  tieen  ve 
cirtumauncea  l^thinfc  the^ 

•pirltn,  perhapa  because  the  ...^  ^  .^  ^„„  .^^  ^  ,^ 
month  of  June  seemed  s«  completely  i<i  uncockniffy  m. 
At  ill  events  there  was  no  doubt  now  we  h«d  gtit^  into  kt 
mm  iihfMfs,  as  our  French  frlands  called  theni.  and.  what- 
•vtr  else  might  b«  in  store  for  Um,  thwi  was  sure  hanoa* 
fdrtb  to  b«  no  lack  of  novelty  and  excitement. 

By  this  lime  it  waa  already  well  on  in  liie  evening,  ao 
having  «grsed  with  Monsieur  dc  ^Ronci^re  on  a  code  of 
•ignala  In^aaa  of  .f<i|^.  and  that  a  Jack  h<»isied  at  the  mixen 
«<^  **M^  Hm^Hr w  « Iha  lort  af  the  stjhooner. 
iliottid  be  an  intimation  of  a  desire  of  6ne  m  oilitr  b  eaat 
df,  we  got  into  ihe  boaj^imd  were  dropped  down  alongalda 
•UP  own  ship.    Kvar  since  leaving  It tiand  the  >teamarj||d 
been  heading  aasinorthaaat  by  ^mpass.  Iwt  durinj||p 
whole  of  the  ensuing  night  she  shaped  aaouth^st  eoim^ 
the  thiclt  mist  rendering  it  unwise  to  stand  on  any  Imigtr 
In  the  direction  of  the  honimst,  as  they  call  the  outer  adft 
of  tN  bolt  that  hems  in  eastern  Greenland.    About  throi 
A.II.  it  dearott  up  a  Uttla.    ^  bnudifast  time  the  suit  ft- 
appoand,  and  we  could  pee  flv«  m  aig  milts  tSimA  of  thi^ 


iwatl.  It  was  shbrily  after  this,  that  as  I  waa  stanaing  in 
«•  main  rising  peering  out  over  Ihe  smooth  blue  surface 
ol  ^  Mi,  a  wbite  twinkling  point  of  light  suddenly  Gaugbl 
»y  tya  about  ^  eoupla  of  «itlas  oil  on  tht  port  boi%  wbMl 
•  miicopa  aoon  iMoivad taio  a laliiary  hdtol  iea,! 


V 


i 


/  ♦ 


s^^   t  ^ 


l53/' 


'/.%.'  ud/,\K'lr^.4 


? 


I3«  LBTTtSMS  tmOM  iUtiH  tAriTttMtS,        [VUI. 

«nd  di^ng  in  4he  iunllght.    Ai  ytxi  m«y  luppMie,  the  newt 

brought  everybiidy  upon  drck  ,•  and  when  «lmmt  immMt- 

•tely  alterwArds  «  airing  of  other  piecea,  glit  luring  like  • 

diamond  necklace,  hove  in  aight,lhe  excitement  waa  extreme. 

Here  nt  all  eventa  wan  honeat  blue  aalt  water  fraten 

iolid,  and  when,  aa* jI^  proceeded,  the  acattered  fragmcnta 

lhick«nefl,  and  paaaed  like  Silver  ArgtMiten  on  either  hand, 

ttiltU  at  laat  we  found  oiiraelvea  enveloped  in  an  lnnume^ 

ibleHeel  of  berga,— It  aeemed  na  if  we  could  iiever  be 

weary  of  admiring  a  alght  so  atrange  and  beautiful.    It  wia 

lither  In  form  and  color  than  in  Nine  that  theae  ice  iaieta 

were  remarkable  i  anything  approaching  tt>  a  real  icebei|{ 

we  neither  a«w,  nor  are  >ve  llbely  lo  aee.    In  fact,  the  lofty 

Ice  mounhiina  that  wander  llk«  vagrant  ialanda  along  the 

coaat  »»f  Anioric.i,  aelditm  or  never  come  to  the  oaniward 

or  norfhwanl  of  (.'ape  Farewell,    They  cotiitiai  of  land  ice, 

and  are  all  generated  among  baya  and  atraita  within  Baffin'a 

Bay,  and  Arat  enter  the  Atlantic  a  gotnt  deal  to  the  aouth- 

ward  of  linMand  ;  whereaa  the  I'olar  Ice,  among  which  we 

have  been  knocking  alxHit,  ia  Held  ice  and— except  when 

packed  one  Iwlge  alwv^  the  other,  by  great  preaaure— la 

comparatively  Hat.    I  do  not  think  I  aaw  any  piecea  that 

were  piled  up  higher  than  thirty  or  ihirtyAve  feet  above  the 

.  aea-level,  althoug)i  at  a  little  dUtance  ihrttiigh  the  miat  they 

may  Iravc  lnometl  much  loftier,  u 

In  quaintneaaof  form,  and  Iti  brAliancy  of  colora,  theae 
wonderful  maaaea  aur^Maaed  ovfrything  I  had  imagined  ( 
and  we  found  endleaaamuaement  in  watching  iMr  fantaalie 
proceaaioD. 

At  one  time  it  wa|  a  knight  on  horaeback,  clad  in  a«p- 
pbira  mall,  •  white  plume  above  hla  caaque.  Or  a  catht- 
drti  window  with  ahafta  of  chryaophi«a,  new  powdend  by 
•  anow-Ntorm.  Or  «  ammttli  ahoer  cliff  of  lapla  laaull )  or 
a  Ranyan  tree,  with  roiHa  deacending  from  Its  branrjiia, 
and  ti\follage  a»  delicat»  at  tite  t'tWtirw»tcenc»<  of  moltoi^ 


^ 


^ 


.it,- 


fclnrtwiiiiif'''-  ■'  ■; 


,~^4l^'   T*"^"^ '"i^f=«>- 


VIII.] 


jejt. 


>33 


mtUi  J  or  a  f«Jry  dragon,  th«t  br««iit«<t  the  water  in  iicaioi 
of-^merald ;  or  anything  elue  that  your  fancy  choaa  to 
cof»J«t«  up.  Aft«r  a  Uttle  time,  the  mitt  again  de«ceniled 
orf^  acenc,  and  dulifd  each  glittering  form  to  a  shape- 
baa  maaii  of  white  j  while  in  npite  of  all  our  ench^avori  to 
^-;  keep  upon  our  northerly  courae.  we  were  comtanily  com- 
*  pelletl  to  turn  and  wind  about  in  every  dlrectiQtt--aome. 
timet  atanding  on  for  aeveral  hour*  at  a  atretch  to  the 
southward  and  cavtward.  ThcHc  perpetual  embarraiijimenta 
became  at  length  very  wearying,  and  in  oiiler  to  relieve 
the  tedium  of  bur  progrewi  I  requested  the  Floctor  to  re- 
move one  of  my  teeth.  This  he  did  with  the  greateat 
ability— a  wrench  to  sinrboard.-.umther  to  port,--and  up 
it  flew  through  the  cabin  sky  light.  ^ 

I%ing  the  whole  of  that  afternoon  and  the  following 
night  ft  made  but  little  Northing  at  all,  and  the  niiiiday 
the  ice^emed  more  pertinaciously  in  our  way  than  ever  i 
neither  cmihl  we  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  hours  by 
conversing  with  each  other  on  Uie  black  bo.ird»,  as  the 
mist  was  too  thick  for  us  to  distinguish  fn»m  on  boiird  one 
ship  anything  iliat  was  pacing  on  the  deck  of  the  other. 
Notwithstanding  the  grrat  care  and  skill  with  which  the 
steamer  threaded  her  way  among  the  loose  floes,  it  was  Im- 
possible  aometimea  to  prevent  fntgrnents  of  Ice  striking  ua 
with  considerable  violence  on  the.  bows  j  and  as  we  lay  in 
fted  at  night,  I  confess  that  until  we  got  accuatomed  to  the 
noise,  it  was  1^  no  means  a  pleasant  thing  to  hear  the 
pieces  angrily  scraping  along  the  ship's  sidea^-wlthin  two 
Inobes  of  mr  ears.    ()n  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day  it 
canie  on  to  blow  pretty  hard,  and  at  midnight  it  had  fresh«- 
ened  to  half  a  gait' ;  hut  by  dint  of  standing  well  away  to 
Ihe.eastward  we  had  sm-cooded  in  reaching  comparatively 
open  water.vand  I  had  gone  to  bed  in  g^at  hopes  th.it  at 
*ll  evehta  the  breeae  would  bruah  off  the  ing,  and  enable 
we  M  see  owr  wty  a  littlff  more  cfearly  the  neat  morning. 


11 

f-  i 


r«     * 


--.'    ,«r"">" 


-/ 


•94        utrnMf  imoM  moM  lArmwu.     {vm 

At  flv«  o*ckKk  A.  M.,  .the  olll««r  of  the  watch  Jumped 
ilown  Into  my  cabin,  nn^awokc  mc  with  the  n«w»— **  That 
the  Frenchman  was  a-i^ng  aummat  on  hi*  blavk  boanll " 
Filing  by  the  motbn  that  a  v«ry  high  aea  muat  have  been 
hiioolietl  \kp  duriog  the  nifht.  1  began  to  be  fifraid  that 
Komething  nij^Ht  have  gcme  wronx  with  th«  inwing-gear,  or 
that  a  hawier  might  have  become  eniangicU  in  the  co^ 
vetlt'a  acrew-^which  wan  the  cataatro))he  of  which  I  had 
always  been  moat  apprehensive  ;  ao  alipping  on  a  pair  of 
tit  boot^  which  I  cnrefully  Itrpt  by  the  bedaide  in  caae  of 
an  emergency,  and  throwing  a  c\mk  over— 

'      *•  U  limitiv  aii^rtil 
D*Miw  ^AHHl  ^u'on  vi«ai  d'MfMhtr  ««  mmmmO,** 

I  caught  hold  of  a  telescope,  and  tumbled  up  on  deeh. 
Anything  more  bitter  and  disagrwabh)  than  the  icy  Mast,, 
which  caught  me  round  the  wa|irl  aa  I  emergeil  from  tiptf 
companion  I  never  remember.    With  both  hamU  occupied  ^ 
in  levelling  the  t«l«iiiO|)e,  I  could  not  keep  the  whui  from 
blowing  the  looae  wrap  quije  oil  my  sltouldens  and  eacepi 
for  the  name  of  the  thing,  I  might  Juat  aa  well  have  been 
atanding  In  my  shin.    Indeed,  I  wan  no  irreaisiibly  atruck 
with  my  own  resemblance  to  a  colored  print  I  rememlier  in 
youthful  days,  —  repreaenttng  that  cibbratml  character* 
**  Puas  in  Boots,'*  with  a  ptirpic  robe  of  honor  streaming 
far  behind  hint  on  the  igpd,  to  express  the  velocity  of  hia 
magical  progreM—that  f  laughed  almid  while  I  ahiverw)  In 
the  blast.    What  with  the  apray  and  miat,  moreover,  it  was 
a  good  ten  minutes  before  I  ctmid  make  out  the  writing, 
and  when  at  laat  I  did  apell  out  the  letters,  their  meaning 
wan  not  very  in<*piriilng  i  "  A%«f  f^rmm  i /^ipJ^mtH^  r 
80  evidently  they  had  given  Itj  ^ip  HT  a  bad  H>.  end  had 
come  to  the  conrluniott  that  the  hUnd  waa  inacceaaible, 
Yet  it  teemed  very  hard  to  have  to  turn  back,  -ifter  comii« 


■  j.v^w.'p  r^r-wi^^ 


Vino       ^  NkKttNO  ihf  A  toy»iy  sror  in 

M  l*r  I  We  had  Already  made  upwards  of  300  m(le»  since 
leaving  loelmd :  it  could  not  be  much  above  i«o  or  ijo 
more  to  Jan  Mayen  ;  and  although  things  loolcod  un|rom- 
ising,  there  still  seemed  such  a  chance  o(  success,  that  I 
could  not  And  it  in  my  heart  to  gife  in  j  so,  having  run  up 
a  }ack  at  the  fore—ail  writing  on  our  board  was  out  of  the 
question,  we  were  so  deluged,  with  spray-~I  jumped  down 
to  wake  Fitigeraid  and  Sigurdr,  and  tell  them  we  1^  go- 
ing to  cast  i^r,  in  cane  they  ImuI  any  letters  to  semi  home. 
I«  the  mean  timer  I  «cribbl«H^jij4ine  of  thanks  and  good 
wiahes  to  If.  de  la  Koncikrc,  and  anotlior  to  you,  and 
guyed  ft  with  our  mails  on-  board  the  corvette<^n  a  mil^ 
ctm.  ,.  %. 

In  thu  mean  time  all  was  bustle  i«pl  board  pur  decks 
and  1  think  every  one  was  heartily  pteaaed  at  the  thought* 
of  geitiiHK  the  little  schooner  agaiiv  under  canvass.  A 
eeuple  of  reefs  were  battled  down  In  the  mainsail  and 
•liQPMil,  and  everything  got  ready  for  makii^  aall. 

**Ia  alt  clear  for'anl  for  slipping,  Mr.  Wyse ) " 

"Ay,  ay,  Wr;  all  clear  I" 

*Let  go  the  tow-ropes  I "  , 

"AH  gone.  Sir  I" 

And  down  went  the  heavy  hawisers  Inio  tlilsea,^ 
fluttered  th«  staysail,— 4lieii—p«ii«ing  for  a  moment  on  tin 
waves  with  the  startled  iM^Miiaiion  of  a«blwl  suddenly  set 
fMfi— the  little  creature  iipreiid'  her  wings,  thrite  di^d 
her  ensign  in  token  of  adieu—receiving  in  i?tum  a  hearty 
clieer  from  the  French  crew — and  glided  like  a  phMtoni 
Into  the  North,  while  the  "  A*mm  M0HmM  "  jtufTed  back  to 
ki^and,' 


«  ft  llkssiesiittv  spptAW^  «»••»  Il»»  **X,*0m,"  ofl  iIm  Mcomi  dsy 
I  OnemUr  Mtml,  kail  Hntorlunslcly  kiwocktd  a  hole  in  ksff 
keMnm  sisiiwt  ikt  lM,jMMl  WM  eMtattl  to  ren  ssiidle  ki  s*skihii« 
la  iBWiiieiass_it  wevff  kaviw|  kwH  n^dmi  kykff  H^JUti 


m  "MM»  mmm'*  kmd  henelf^yH  el  s^slsi  and  as  Mm  e» 


,.«w   ..;.<. 


»  ;     •>  *■ 


ji-   ■    -n,- 


[T     "*  x»""'5*'^ 


»3«        ijtmtM  mm  men  urfhrnMs,     cviii. 

il«.'!!lur*""'"  r"'/"**  ••  ''wt  th«  only  d«nl««n.  of 
«w .  mUry  m.    I  confog*  I  f,u  .«ct-i v|y  «rry  to  h»v 
lottthe  socivty  of  iuch  joyous  com|MM,ioi«  ;  ihey  hull  n». 
Jtivtrt  Hi  tlwuyi  with  Much  merry  gtH«|  imiun.  x  th«  Hrine* 
h«U  ^»wn  himii<af  to  grMiout  aiut  con«idtr«t«;  Md'iit 
WM  •urroMiukd  by  «  MiOr  o(  •«^cl«m,  w.l|.lnlorm«| 
p«rion»,  ihttt  it  wnii  wiih  th«  (l««|)«»t  ru^hit  I  wmclMd  tiM 
fof  cl.»ii«rt>undthe.m«g,Uilcont  twmw.  •nd  bury  her- 
•nd  idl  whom  «h«  cimuliml-wlthJn  »/»  bowMU.    Our  mni 
MtiMiioii.  too,  wU«  not  «ltot«ih«r  wlibbut  c«u»inff  m«  «  llh 
tl«  «.uifny.    W«  h«d  not  M«n  ih«  »un  lor  two  d«y,  :  it 
w«ii  vory  tHtck  with  «  honvy  »ou,  and  d«idglnir  nbout  «»  w» 
hud  b««,,  »m«,^  ,ho  ice,  «t  thu  h««l>  of  th«  «tt.«.u«r,  our 
djwMl  rwkonlng  wm  not  v«ry  much  t«  bo  d«H«Hda«l  up.m, 
rh«  b«Kt  pUn  I  thoiight  would  b«  to  »tr«tch  iWfty  «t  once 
ctonr  .If  the  iw,  thtn  run  up  iitio  the  Intituda  of  J«n  Mny  . 
tn,  iMul--««  »wm  ««  wp  should  Mvo  r««d»«fr  the   |Mir4lliit 
of  it«  nurthorn  «j»inimUy-~b«iir  down  m  th«  lund     Jf 

!r'*.'*1l'rrj^'**  •*  ^  •**  »•»«  '•'*•«*. »»  wii»  wiry  evi. 
dtnt  it  fmild  b«  on  tti  nortlwAi  or  eMt«rn  iM*  ,  iind  now 
that  W.1  m,rB  *Ioiuk  ,o  k«f  p  on  knoeklnff  up  through  «  hun- 
drwl  mibit  or  io  of  ic«  in  a  thick  f.ig,  in  our  frttgii. 
•choon«r,  wmdd  hiivt«  beon  out  of  tiw  qu«»tion. 
^-Thu  Mhlp'n  couNe,  thwrefon^,  having  b«>«n  ihiiiiett  in  nc- 
•oitl«nc«  with  ihU  view.  I  stoli,  Iwck  into  b«Und  rMumtd 
my  vlol«i«d  «lumk.r«.  ,,TuwnrtU  mid  day  tli«  t^oMher  b«. 
f An  to  m.Hlt»rrtte,  nml  byNfour  .»'cU»ck  wo  w«r«  idilmmint 
•king  on  A  nmtMith  i«H,  with  aII  imIIn  mi,    thU  maI*  of 
pmnperlty  contlnuetl  for  th«  next  twontyfour  houri ,  we 
hAd  mAdt)  About  eighty  knot*  »lnce  pArtIng  company  with 

kerbe.  wHiNAH  Ml  Ate.!, «.  .  .MMwtimi  ,1  mta  Ml  «i  Iwwi.    ^^ 


i'Jb     .'- 


^..■.^;^ 


■fn'-^! 


Jt'.  ti    *^ia^%,„ 


■^^wi'TWfr'-T- 


J 


-1' 


Vltl.]  ^A'xwus  iiftnis,  ill 

til*  FranehMtn,  nik)  ft  wdii  imm^  time  t<|  ran  down  Wmi 
and  pick  Mp  th«  l«»d.  Luckl^  the  »ky  wm  pretty  cIom*, 
Md  M  we  lailod  on  throufhjtpen  water  I  really  began  to 
tliinli  our  pronpefjti  very  brWiMt.  But  about  three  o'ckwli 
on  the  necoml  day,  ipecki|^  tot  began  to  Aicker  litre  and 
there  on  the  horlwm,  then  larger  hulkM  came  (ioatlnf^by 
In  formtt  aa  picivfrvNquu  Im  over— (orte,  I  particularly  n 
memiitir,  a  human  hand  thrunt  up  out  of  tlie  water  with 
outftretfehed  foreflnger,  w  M  to  warn  ua  af^inat  proceedii« 
farUu^r),  un(fl  at  iaat  the  whole  aea  beeame  clouded  with 
hummock)!  that  aeen^  to  gather  on  our  path  in  magical 
multiyicity. 

Uj>  to  thia  tlmt^  had  leen  nothing.nf  the  ialand,  ytt 
f  kn«#  wi  muat  Nt  within  a  vwy  law  ndiaa  oflt  i  and  n«Mr 
to  makD  thIngH  i|4iite  iibaaant,  thct^  deacende<l  uponua  a 
thickur  fog  than  I  ahould  haVe  thought  the  alnuMpher* 
capable  of  auatalning;  it  ieeme«l  to  hang  in  aoliil  fuatuuna 
from  the  maata  »nd  apara.    To  aay  that  you  muld  not  Mt 
your  hami,  ce^aed  almoat  to  be 'any  ^Niger  flgunitlve  tvtn 
the  Ice  waa  lilil— itxcHipt  thoat)  fragine^ta  ittimefiiately  adja* 
cent.wlmajjighaally  brilliancy  the  nijat^itHolf  muld  mtt  quite 
cxtingtiiah,  aa  they  gllmmitreil  round  the  veaael  Hkea  eircle 
of  lumiiHHia  phanioma.    The  perfect  atillneaa  of  the  ata 
and  aky  aAlvd  very  mudi  to  the  ^okLnity  of  4he  aeatMj 
almoat  every  breath  ojjwihd  hat^filtn,  aearoely  a  ripplf 
tinkled  againut  the  copper  ah«athlngJ  aa  the  aolltary  little 
•ehouner  gliiied  flong  at  the  rate  of  haHii  knot  or  ao  an 
hour,  and  the  only  aound  we  heard  wii  thij^iani  .waah 
of  watora.  hut  whether  on  a  grei|t  aluiri,  or^^ig  a  bait  ^ 
aolid  ice,  It  wat  lm|)oaaible  to  aay.     1 1  auch  weather,---aB 
the  original  diaeoverera  of^ian  Mayen  aald  undef^imiiaf 
oireumatanoaa,— *'  It  waa  aaaltr  to  hear  lam^tlMn  Md  wm  It." 
Thua,  hour  aftttr  hour  paaaed  by  and  hrought  iio  ohang*. 
Fita  and  Htgurtlr— who  h/iii   Inigun   i|uite  to  diabelievt 


\ ' 


I 


^ 


^ 


^ 


■    \ 


^ 


Hw. 


\  . 


-^■1^ 


i|l       JiMrriMs  Hew  jmf  Mnrvitfs, 

ii  |M«f  U|iiind#>wn  iNt  iijeli,  muii 

(MCh  quAlHir  of  th«  nmy  emK||^)iit  t 

h)^%  Aboia  lour  in  the  nrafft|i|ig,T^||c^ 

'^'h  lo-liitt  pi«et ,  Om  Mvylii^  . 

,  im|Mi««ptib||  »f piir«iiii|  ii«i  |M  ftw 

"^nly  i|kltl!fliumler,  1^ 


\ 


\ 


imwi 


'It  WiM  ^aliy  Mini  of  aftV 
thi^  Msvantyi  heiiv«n.  Thl|| 
r,  mpuntnJh  nctiiiitly  tumhiii 
Ctfliinibu*  could  not  hiiv«  I 

#f«t>|j|  (idvit  iiij{iHf  o(  WAicNitK,h«  Mw  

tt  iWw  ^lMiit!i(iiphi>r«  tlitncq  upon  tha  wnttr;  nor 
«iy  i«M  lillitppoijitQi^  At  their  Midden  diM^ 
i  I  WAi,  whin,  utter  having  gone  tMtlu#  to 
!;Mgtirtfr,  And  t«ti  hU  #•  had  »Mn  bonit  M^  terrtr 
J  ^Mmd,  on  rtturnlnt^  upon  deck,  that  th«  roof  of 
It  iiAd  cioftd  AgAlm  «nd  «ii.ul  out  aH  trAce  i>r  the,  tnui* 
It  vl»bn.  HoweviH-  I  hAd  got  a  clinch  of  the  liUiid. 
•iifA  no  Alight  mutter  Ahfmld  mi^i  nw  Inlgo  my  hold.  In 
IheiiiMtiiliiMt  there  Wi|a  nothing  for  it  hut  to  vnitt  ^ontly 
^il  the  curtAin  }»^\  i  «nd>  no  ifhtld  ever  iiartd  mom 
irty  At  A  giviln  drtip-Actne  In  ex^ieoUtton  of  "the  rtAlm  of 


ovftrh««d, 


^•litl|  epWodw  '  imimhMd  In  the  hilt,  th«n  I  did  At 

X  iN^^l^onlfAA  p^y  folde  H^t  huiHi  round  ua.    At  lAAt  tht, 

hlttr  of  tihor«tlon  cAm«  i  a  purer  light  Retmcd  grAduAlly  to 

^jyptMtrAte  lh«  Al»nnM|Ui«re,  limwn  turned  to  gray,  And  groy 

«^  white,  And  whlla  !<•  irAiiepAranl  blue,  Until  the  loit  horh 

■on  entirely  raAppoAred  except  wherein  om  direclion  a 

ImpenetrAbit  vt H  of  hAto  aUII  hung  iuepeii^td  fr»m  th 

MAtth  to  the  iM.     ttehjud  ih*t  vtH  t  know  inuaI 

Miiyth.  ^         'm^ 

A  few  mtnu^a  nwlJB  ilowdy,  illtnrty,  In  t 


U 


'■""f^  f^"^* 


'■( 


.    •  "^t. 


'''  •  V-  'SJ"'  '"'"t'^'i'^  'i;?^ 


t 


\ 


yiU.]  (tlACtMUS,  ^  139 

yoy  could  t«ke  no^cauiu  o(,  it*  diiiky  hei^  Aral  Uvepanvd : 
D>  «vioi«t  tln|«,  llMt)  gmdunlly  liftin|(»  dUpUyed  «.  Unug 
Km  o(  «0Mt<— In  raatlty  but  the  roots  tA  B««r«nlNH'g^ 
dy«d  of  thtt  darkoMt  piirplo  j  while  ob«dl«nt  to  «  cummon 
impulKi  Ui«  uiiiudt  that  wrrfjitMMi  iu  aumtiiit  g«nliy  4i««n- 
gAgttd  th^mnDivuit,  aihI  left  tliu  intniiittiln  attiiidiHg  in  all 
thu  magiiiti^itce  of  hia  6,170  feet,  girdled  by  «  ilitglo  aone 
«4  pearly  vapor,  Irom  underneath  whoae  floating  Mda 
afven  enoriiuniH  giriciiira  rolled  down  Into  thu  mxi  I  Niiture , 

7ii6e<l  to  have  turned  •uetuv«hUlorjiio  artfully  were  the 
Mea  of  thU  gtoritiua  apectuvle  luiccoaaively  developed. 
Although  -by  reaaon  of  our  having  hit  upon  ita  aide 
Inatead  of  ita  naijrow  eftd-»the  outline  of  Mimnt  ]leertn> 
berg  iipfMared  to  m  more  Uk^  a  Niigftr^oaf  thn^  a  apW-* 
broader  at  the  bnae  and  rounder  M  the  top  tlMU  t  httd  im- 
ag ined,-— In  aiie,  color,  and  iffeet,  it  farsj^urpimaed  any- 
thing I  hud  anticipated.  The  glacierH  ylb^qulte  an  unex> 
pected  elemunt  of  iMJatity,  Iin4gin#  a  mighty  river  of  a>* 
great  a  volunin  aa  ( tli»  'l^hiMnea^ataried  down  the  aide  of 
«  mcHMUain,— bnratlrig  over  every  impedlment,-«-wHlrbd 
into  a  tluHi»«ndeiht{ea,— tumbling  and  raglitg  m  from 
Udgt  to  ledge  in  ij^vi^dng  cataracta  of  foAin.^-then  aud< 
denly  ainn'k  rigid  ny  «f^'w«r  ao  InattntaneouH  In  itaji«tion 
that  ev^n  the  froth  »nd  fleeting  wreatha  of  apray  have 
itlfTtiKMl  into  the  immutability  of  atJulpture.  Unieaa  you 
bid  mm  itt  it  would  be  almoat  itnpoaaib|e  to  conceive  tht 
atrnmeheNM  ol  the  ctmtraMt  between  the  actual  trancpdility 
of  the*!  Nlle'nt  eryaItU  ■^'V.^i'jyU^  '1*^  violent  deauttmiinf 
energy  linpn^Mll^  Vou  muat  remwrn- 

ber,  too,  «lt?pa  it  upon  f  aoUe  i|p^ph  prodigioua  magnl» 
tttde,  tniVwhen  we  aueotedtln  au)il»«quentlyin Upproacbing 
^  ipijiiinWiurg  wii%  i€  leap  like  that  olPNiagarar  one  vk 


tiMM  gl««toft  pluiigea  down  into  lhe'l«iP*theey^|^na4iNii^ 
ipger  able  to  t«ke  in  \{%  flitriat  charai*tep,  )waa  oontent  to 
'"^n  iiwipb  aatonlihrnent  at 


♦     --  ■  ■    •  ■ ,- 


'^ 


i4«        i^rrkx^  AW0if  ^m^j^rfrvifMs.     [viii. 

|»rt«i|i(c«  or  gr«)^grN\lct,  rlMtng  tolht  Ntigiit  of  Mvtml 
fuintlriHi  twti  iilHiv«jli«>na«ts  of  the  v«Mtl. 

Ah  M<Mm  ««  w«  hiiii  g«il\  Htiie  ovtr  our  lint  r««liiifi  of 
MtoMiihniaiit  *t  ihe  (xtiiorMii^thuK  Muddenly  riive«l«<|  to  ut 
by  th«  lifiiitg  c»r  ih«  fog,  I  beg^hi  to  coii»iit<tr  what  would 
b«  the  iMit^iiy  of  getting  ti»  tlMiWlKiriign  on  thrw«it— 
or  OfMnUiMl  »i(l«  of  th«  Itltind.  >y«  wera  mil  Mvwvor 
«ight  mIWi  frtim  ihu  •horv,  nod  Ih()\ii6rth«rn  Mirvmity 
of  th«  isUiid,  round  which  we  iihmild  Iwvo  to  puMR,  Uy 

un  ttnd  th«  Und  itr«tehc<l  a  btniinutiuii  broiuHh  of  Hoiiting  ^ 

Je«,    Thn  hummiickm  howt wr,  \mmm\  to  h«  yiratty  Ioom 

with  o|MniiigM  h«rf  «iid  ih«rt».  uti  that  with  curerui  »«|l|ng  I 

Ihmight  wmlghi  ptiwi  ihrauuh,  <tnd  perhtt))ii  on  tlus^irtlwr 

»itlb  of  thti  inliintl  mnw  inlit  a fr««r  Mm.  AIm  I  nftt^r  hkving 

with  Mimu  diHk^uliy  wtmiHt  nlong  until   we  were   tlmmi 

•hr«*«i  rtf  ihi<  i'A|H<,  WB  were  atopped  dead  ah««  |iya  iOlSl, 

rampart  of  HMvti  Ium,  which  in  one  directimi  letini  Vipoii  tite 

land,  aiu)  in  the  niiter  ran  away  ai  far  an  the  eye  could 

rea^h  into  the  dutlty  Kifirth.^    Tliui  hopeieaaly  cut  off  frtun 

all  auce**  to  the  w»»ter^-imd  better  anuhorage,  it  only  ri- 

malniHl  to  put  aiMui»,  and— running  ilown  along  the  land 

— aiienipt  to  reach  a  l^indof  open  roadmead  on  the  eastern 

»iile»  a  little  lo  th«  »i"»dth  of  the  volcano  dvncrilMid  by  L>r» 

Scoreaby  i  but  In  iliimjndeavor  aliuY  we.'Were  d(NNnet|  to  Im 

dliapHiuea  I  for*itfter  aailing  aome  etknaiderable  dlafano-i 

thmugl^  a  rti'ld  f.r  Ice,  which  kepi  gelling  more  ^loaely  pMifc. 

•d  aa  we  puNhtttl  further  Inio  li,  we  came  uptm  anntiMir 

b«rrl»r  eqiMlly  ImiHineirable,  that  fitretvhed  away  from  the 

liland  tnwiiN  the  NouthwartI  ami  Kaatward.    Under  theta 

«lrt;m«»ianc««,  the  imly  thing  to  be  done  waa  |o  get  baeli 

1^  where  ihn  im  wan  Imiacr,  and  attempt  a  landing  whtr* 

t^.a  favorable  opening  prentt^ued  itielf.    But  even  lo'eif  i 

tritoate  (Hinelvea  from  mir  preaent  poaition,  waa  now  no 

lon|er  of  auch  eaay  performanee.    Within  th«  laai  hour  Iht 


^^— _a*.-iu-i[jj 


i.-4l. 


^'    ^A.^  ^mi^  i\\.  -^iJi>  «.T^   1. '  '■alUi;^ 


n\\.] 


m^/f/ci/ir/Mx. 


141 


\ 


wind  hurl  nhifidd  into  the  N'orthWeitl  i  ihiit  in  toiiiy,  it 
now  lilowing  right  down  th«i  p<ttli  Mloiig  whlrhwo  hm\  plnli' 
id  our  wiiy  \  In  order  to  r«|urn,tht*re(ore,  it  would  Wn«c«>4> 
»»ry  la  work  the  »ht|)  to  winilWiirtl  thnuigh  m  ma  m  thlcklir 
cmmmud  wUh  lei;  ni  «  l«dy'ii  lifuifloir  li  with  lurnttMni, 
Mcireovnr,  it  hnd  Itecnmn  evldont,  from  Ihti  ohvtoui  clonlni 
of  the  o|}en  apat'OM,  that  «<im«  connlduritbln  (irenntire  wm 
Mtlrm  upon  the  outiiM«  of  the  Iteld )  hut  whether  ort(int< 

\tlng  In  It  current,  or  Uie  changu  of  wind,  «ir  iinothtr  fltki 
l^ing  driven  down  uimhi  It,  1  ^iiild  not  tell.  Uo  thut  m  it 
might,  out  we  muMt  get,<<Hiinle»ii  we  Witnteil  to  lie  crAohtd 
llkei  il^  WMlnul'Nheil  between  the  drifting  ice  und  the  iH^td 
httit  to  Ifewnrtl  i  io  Mnding  «  Mttuly  h^nd  to  the  h«iiii,-<«» 
for  thiM  Hnuitual  phenoinenii  httd  Itegun  to  ni«ke  Home  ol 
my  peo|)le  HiKn  their  heiuU  k  little,  no  one  on  hoitnl  hnving 
ever  Met)  II  Itlt^  of  ice  Uefftro,— t  atiitioned  myiieif  in  the 
bowtt,  white  Mr.  Wyne  conned  IIm  veiwel  from  the  «qiiAr« 
yard.  '  tlwn  thar«  liegiin  one  of  the  prettleat  iim,l  m<Mt 
•netting  |}lec«N  of  nA^itiuiil  m«naiuvrlng  th«t  ctin  be  imagine, 
•di  Kvvty  iili^ld  HoiilMm  Imurd  wm*  iiumniontid  u|Hni  de  k  ) 
to  all,  their  ieventi  utalionii  muiI  diKieN  wunr  M^lgned  — 

^alwayi  txcepilng  the  eodt,  who  wan  mtKity  direotmt  ito 
maka  hlmtelf  generally  iiMfi>|>  Aa  aoori  aa  averybody  waa 
ready,  down  went  the  helm,  ^iW«it  came  the  ahip,^it4^< 
tlie  crttit-rtl  iMrt  of  the  iHiainwaa  \iimnient^l.  l)f  ttourai; 
In  itnler  to  wind  and  fi^iat  thi«  athi^tier  in  ami  out  amohf 
<th«  iNvioua  ehannalalift  batwaen  the  hummticki,  It  w«» 
Mo^iMry  aha  ahduld  have  utmalderahVway on har  |  at th«  . 
aama  titnn  m*  narrow  wttrt*  mimn  of  tht*  p^<i<«rt|tim,  mi\  m 

N^arp  thatr  turntnga,  that  unlaM  alie  had  H^en  the  moat 
luindy  veaael  in  the  world,  iihe  wtudd  have  hni^  vitry  na^ 
riHi^uaak  (fir  iWl  navar  law  anything  ao  httauttlut  aa 
liar  bci^av^br,  jMrahw  baa n  a  living  eraatura,  al^Kaiiildl 
not  hava\diidga|Rm<r  wound,  and  donbleil,  with  mora  imi» 

lifltfltia  oumdnii Vnd  daaterity  i  ami  It  ^  ^Mte  amnaikii 


V  • 


i4ut&>»lki<s>>>'%  i^ 


«• 


'.?/."■« 


%"  '    r%'^  "  '*■»  '^s??''* 


^r,  tMf^  tim^iM  wimbN  crtnuirt  oohtrfvwi  to  tfuii*  Miiif 
mora  ihmiitRiuitiy  fl»rvAi«niiifr  toitgiMi  ol  tegL.f||Moft»faw 

•J         i^*"*"'**^****  **•"  "^^^  ft^t\m%t  fim,  or  go 
•iNwi  1^^  to  Avoid  It,  WW  10  h«ii)  IN  »t«yi«||  »h««t  |. 

'''••*W=M&!*''I*>"  f"  «l««id»ii  l»«'r  wrtv  M  mueh  m  oiMlhM, 

*^ELf  "**  **®*"'  '^"*"  ^•'*  ''*'  «**  '*«'»*  •*  ii,WlK«t 
It Jflf!**'***'^  '•*•  blow  OH  Mr  Mmii,  umi  not  oii  ihu 
bluff  11^19  bow  J  whilo  All  humit,  «rtiMi|  wlt|i  ^mti  %^ 
(tnif^  nMlHNt  forwuni  lf»««i»  nlf  ih«  •bock.    Aitffhtf* 
I  liv)  It  jubt  to  1%  « tribute  of  MlmlMtUm  to  tlie  m»oi  who 
on  tlMM  orcmikiw  iMiver  fAiiiiil  to  enMt  «it  imL«n.« 
Amount  of  mtiil(t4ctf<l  oiuiriy.  br«iik{M|t-|  r«rii.mbfr^i 
1^    ih«  Mm«  moMifiti.  both  tb«  »«bln  iky-Uibt.  tmA  «ti /o«r,  in 
, 'mT'***  •*%*  ^*'1««  iMWil  ib*l  WM  diilng  no  ikriiou- 
tar  W^.  to  UN,  biA  Iplii.t  which  h«  MenMKl  •u.AtMy  to 
Nvi  MintfiMvffil  M  vi«|«nt  «|itte.    tuektiy  «  i»m»iil«r»bl« 
i|U«nl4»y  ol  Mivw  ovtrJAltl  ihAlw,  wM(»h.  AettHg  «•  «  bulTor 
in  Horn*  mtKNun*  mitigMtnil  Ui«  ^«%ii»f  xUmmmUm 
wliilMh«  Vfry  frrtgllHy  of  h«r  IwiM  .«mlii|»hlni  Wiwo. 
m*Hlum.  ^»r..v,.,|  jft  o,^|  ^^  iggwiwr^i  |^«i«m 
•wurily,  Ntv«HhfbiM,1Mtt  ^f«ii  ihut  mom  itmn  onco, 
whilt  io«iniiirl»rwiwili»nin|i«t!t*iitin  orthw  tmm^  f  kiurjir 
^utt^mj,  I  h«vi»  omMThjui^tr  hull  rngpurlui  tnglM 
»ir  figl  ihiiMNimvil  |o  ||l«9i«o  wwuwiy  iiP^       .  ^  t: 

IST*  *•"•  'MHX^**** '»»*««  I-  "  ^  >  iMMly,  U  (I  II 
iMpiliit  btfrlwuM  iht  giHul  rHIii  dT  j»hl  ^ 
nyy^'ti  ■  .■■'■*  '  '  ' 

%  AI'liMii  if^r  h«¥(nt  r««M(w4  ,w»p 

'     fcu>il|iilylM|h  th«  \mi^^H  Httl#:-p 

■^-^pt  Hiy  «ntAM,-.pi  mmk  our  «li^\..^„,  .,„  „„^^ 
•ml  ol  th«  iiUnd,  whtto  tht.  ^mk-  wm  lo«>Mr,  «w4  «i 
•I  «U  •¥•»<•  I  Uitki  Mmm  lirtnthiNi  room. 


rm.  thf, 

i  -|' 

itty  Mvm 
li  thw  only 
t^to  th«  uotHn 


■'?f;: 


A. 


M 


% 


■•»: 


.#- 


\    ' 


T 


Ml^irtCUinMS, 


til 


."% 


VlltJ 

ft  had  iNKiiNitHi  v«ry  rold  j— to  eolil,  iiiHeetl,'  that  Mr. 

WyM— no  \nnptt  uhlu  to  kfntp  n  rlutch  nf  th«  rigflinff    hitil 

•  MVfWi  iumbtn/fmm  ih«  yurU  hh  whiuh  H«  Wnm  iUnHliff. 

'riM  #lmt  WM  fj^vMlMniiitf,  niitl  lilt  tctuma  «vt«Nnll}f  mHI 

III  mtfilon )  tmriilthoufiliviiiy  uniilmii  to  get  tMek  Mgain  iuio 

^^n  wMtr,  wttilKHigtii  li  wtHiht-iuii  iM  m  g<»  awa^  wUtmui 

MtNNllgi  sviin  if  il  w«r«  uiily  Itir  Aivliour.     No  Imviitg  UUI 

Hit  Mfc^nvr  riihl  imil«r  tl^  «HIT.  Mrf  imlKitK  into  th«  ||t|| 

Mir  ow^  itiioMrdfHl  AMur«-h««il,  ii  ^*m»  «)M»i|n,  a  dNi  MAtTi 

•|d^«  (til  lilnmiil  fMiN,  j'iMiiAlirinK  A  |iA|Mir  lift  which  I  haU 

hM^ily  wf in«n  lh«  m  hixiiik'r'it  iiAitif,  (ho  (IaH<  of  iu*r  AiiivAl 

•ml  tho  itAittDa'of  AltthiiiMt  wht>AAilitl(MilNi>)r<)r"'Wtt  iHillml 

iwhor^.    A  ribb»it  of  tNNi#h  mil  in«»r«  iKaii  ftft««ii  yAnl« 

;jM4«,/MmfKNMil  of  iriMi  ANiMi  Aittfil*,  Ami  )iyrt»ii»it«,  rutmlng 

'^ng  iimlir  Iht^  bil^llii  |irt<«'(|^ii(i>    ui^wAnU  of  a  iIhimmih), 

lt|h  rwhtdi  •tirvv*  tin  a  kiiK) "f  ptihih  toUis iiitiwmAiH, 

^«  ohiy  M«mlini  room  (hit  jp^irt  nf  Ihi  ccnmii  nflMritiiii. 

Wilh|jbiNltlffrAtil«  ilitnitiiUy,  Ami  Alt#r  a  yoftd  hmir'N  eltmb 

Wit  |fMto»(liK|  ill  lirAfMiitg  lh«  AriTN  hnAi)  w«  hAit  brought 

iMihtM'*  wiiful^uii  A  iiTu|»iiig  |iAi(!l.i  of  %\wm^  whli*h  Uy  ilt  A 

ertvU«  of  limtffj  Mini  ili*««Hi«  a  lliiln  highwr,  to  a  iiAiurAl 

MflMtiil  ffirmcfl  by  i  bmbwit  Ah«fl  of  rovb  \  wh«rt  -uttt r 

kiViiti  Hull  th«  till  bftN  rtiumi  htr  iiMb,  aikI  duly  ^lant 

•d  Ibt  whl(«(|»iiii^it  <t%i  I4t.  (}#(»rKM  l»«iii«lii  h»r,»«w«  l«ft 

IIm  MipfrMiWd  dAiioiwI,  iomtiwIiAt  grimly  »militig  JD^roas 

tbtfTMNm n««Aii  it  h«r  fttt,  until  Munu  IWnihu*  id  a  IwAr 

tbiHiid  ttoiKf  to  rtlitvii  th«  lon«ilniA«  of  my  wnudtn 

Aritidn*.  ^ 

(In  dtieiMtdtog  to  thn  wAtvr'w  Adgfi,  w»  wAlbfd  A«m«  Hi- 
tif  diAtAnmir^4tJAiiig  (hfi  b«A(  h  without  ointwrvlng  Anything 
vtry  nim«rli«bb,  unlflM  It  iMirtlh«  n^twttrk  ul  yt»Hl(«Al  And 
bfirliuintNl  dlk«tttf  IniAAlt  whioh  ihai  In  i¥«ry  dirwiton 
through  thu  itiorini  Ami  (<ongloin»rAt«  of  which  iht^  etifl  mmh 
•d  to  Im  r omfioiied.  liimMm«rAld«  iNM>>iMrft«  hai  tili  ih«  iie^ 
\m%  iiid  i«ilgf»  tif  tbi  univcn  miim,  vr  tlvw  AlHmt  ut  with 


:|3 


I^Klsf 


:#■' 


X 


144        »-tfrntmi  tmoAi  m^iM  lAmvMtM      tviii. 


t 


^mUU^H  mt\mi»^,  llmt  by  raMhiit«  ixit  my  HmmI  I 

•.HlM  l««.,h  llN.lr  Wlnp  M  ||,.y  ^„<^   tmiHWi.lv..   |„  ,!„ 

•Ir  «toiiK»kiu  t  hum  wn.  otw  t>li|  mArnt^^  sHMi  wImnn 
I  MMMKi  A  mihmI  t«n  mitiutAn  ^/w4/^/w,  iry|«g  ,||„,  g^j^ 
•Itht  iIm  Mlivr  mil  of  ntHiiUwiiAitui}, 

II  WM  iMw  hliHi  limn  to  IM  off.  At  •orm  i»i«>t  ••  wt  M 
«oll,«rM  .omi»  i«f>l.>giuNr  ^mUmnt,  .ml  duly  ehrl,i«n«tl 

V  l«ltll«lMI)ftl  CrMl|/'-«H«fli  Wlljk«*l  It4l<il  to  Ihfl  fix      ||(m« 

M  WjMilly  w««  (IM  tiM  ilrlriiiig  .1.,^,,  „,,^„  ,h«  UI»H.|.  ^^1, 

roWHl  II   iMll  ulniMly  |hh!OW«  <lrH)iltrill  wlMf^r  WM    dltotilii 

mil  Imvit  to  i!*rry  iti«  b.Ntl  i|y»r  iIm  p«io||  whioli  ^Iwrliii  Mn, 
cfHi^w  «r  hoiir«  w»  li«i|  .(Hint  on  •H.iri)  »-»i*,|  «!«,„.,  o„,  |^,^ 
ttff  frotii  NMNM  lo  iliM  W4i«r.  If  till*  W4II  iliN  mw  wlih  iHti 
1%,  II  WM  v»ry  iviikiHI  llw  quk  li«r  w«i  ifit  ih«  «r»..HMwr  oiti 
ill  Mi«  Mfntn  iNn  litlMif .  li.t  lmw»dl*i«ly  w«  r«i«r.i*,l  on 
biMnl.  h«viti|t  rtrii  rtriNl  «  nun  Ih  lolivn  of  ii||«u  lo  |H«  i|»m). 
Iiilf»  lunii  W0  nhoiilil  )t«v»r  AHiiin  m(  foot  on,  Ibt  ililo  wm 
)Hil  i^\m\U  *iHl  our  iMk  of  working  ,^\  „i*^y,(,  j^,  „^^ 
w«Hir  rw  »mm.«w«|.  A5JW*im#r*iio.»  wm  llkdy  lo  mm\fn 
.mif  ilmi..  .Hri»«Hr^ri»,ihf«il^,  «m,df  w*.  now  Imi 

•I*VI0I  O  ,,|.H!k  4»l|.,)  «intl  ill./  «  vtlrt  ^,|.,^t  ,j^,   ^^^ 

mill*  to  tMkt<  rt  |»linHH(r*,»lMif  tH«fn  Mtni«ln,  wlilfh  iH.  mlM 
WW  «««lln  iMHiiMtitHM  I..  .>Hv/l*.|H.,  r  turnml  lo  to  tnk-  «  nup 
wlifali  I  Nth«r  m.,»i|,Ml,^Mlly  MijWf  ting  Hmi  oy  Hot  tjwi.  / 
•«poli«  #»  tKoultl  \m  iM^HHlnt  to  pi  pmity  islJtr  of  ili. 
|Mi«k.  On  eomlnii  »n/i)Mk,  )i9«ri»viir,  l^r  Jmurt  hm 
•lUhouMh  w«  hml  niAiiluitl  4W4y  *  wmw«*IiimIiI.  ilUun^  froNi 
llt»  UmUwl  IM  uvuM  iMiMiil  Hot  -iitit,  whw..,  ihii  dny 
NftM*,  |H«  MM  wiM  «lntoit  rr*«,  -ilw  rtiHw  mohhmiI  pio.,, 
IliM  ivtr  J  M  ivlMit  WM  wtimw,  frottt  iIm  w#.Hi..,|  ^  g 
vi«Hit  ol  »|Min  «NiMr  inii  tn  twHlMoviiniii  On  tytry  tM* 
M  lir  «■  Ih*  .y.  uiittlil  Nii^H,  llHirtf  ilrMteiiiirf  0vif  |||«  Ji 
—  ••MwhUutAnojiyotliif, 


III         I '  '''fO'      ^'   1 


^mj4 


>  Ci^HMUH^VM  tW^JA*.' 


Ml 


Hw  prmpMf  nf  Im(^  Imm^  in  m  altflK^y  Inilli  m  nrnlt. 
•••—Ill  My  Ui«  lt)4iit— 4tfip)i«Hi«it  i  (t  iMuk^tt  v«ry  muuh  mn 
inriih  |M«tii  wtra  drIvliiK  •(••wii  u)Miti  d»  (mm  thu  vtry 
rflrvtldm  In  whiili  w«  w«n  irydm  ut  imili  mil,  yfl  It  liwt 
llMMHi  •  miitliir  fiT  (Imtbi  whiith  ewinMi  li  wuuitt  Im  InmiH} 
ikuf.     I'u  r«iii.tln  •ui(uii«>ry  wnn  «wi  ♦»!  ih«  f|u«<i(itm  \  \\m 
PMM  •!  wHR  luliM  llwUU  tlrfU,  in  wiiii»tliii«)»  vnry  rii|iiil.i  nitil 
tH«  rtrti  Mp  <vf)ui«|  Miila  tlM juiur  liitb  MhiHitMr'i  I^imIhvm 
for  •v«r.    At  Ui«  tAiiM  llmt,  H  w««  itutl«  \%%%%M%  ili«l  Mity 
jtfiifrtM  w«  Mic^mtilw.!  In  iiiiiktnif,  inilimti  *i(  ti)H«llii«  Itiwurrii 
Hwr  MtMiMiiuti,  m^ntK  p«irlM|»«  lt«  uttly  ||*lllii|t  H«r  i(M«|i«r 
l»l«  Ihi  terApo,    On*  ihlittf  mA%  v«ry  ivruln,  --Niirthiiii 
»r  HmiiHlnii  mlKhi  Jm  Mn  •¥•«  ulniiimi,  but  wItAltvvr  iliMf 
^  wii  (Miulii  iniikH  mtiii  Im  ^h  !)«•  ^iMirl  j  u,  |  itaitfn,|««,| 
l«  «lMMit«  wlil«l|«v»r  VHlit  «ii«iit«cl  III  hiiVM  tiiiMt  Krtalwrly  ill 
rwilwH  III  ll,     i*M  Mr  tliitfii  iiiKinliiiiM  uf  tliia  m\\  Usm  tiiHtf 
1*1  limn  prtMnlvU  lIuiinMilvfli  i  Imt  In  tvtry  »«••*,  Aliiir  M 
\m\\s%  ih«m  •  MrlMin  tllitMiM,  tlity  pf«iv«t|  iti  l»«  but'd»/ 
^$^m»\%wS  ^«  liHil  to  rwiiiMi  illttt^iMHfliiHl     My  mnai  Iui^ 
WMin  •  uhrtiiKu  ttl  wiiul,     ii  !»*(»  wlriirtdy  lilnwlim  v»ry 
fr»^li  friim  iIim.  iutriliw»rtt  nhiI  •«ti#«ril  i  untl  l(  li  wimlU  Iml 
•liWi » fnw  puiniM,  In  %\\  pr«b«Mlily  iN  iv*  wtntid  Iimmh  •« 
itpMly  ••  II  bill  m\\mw^,    In  tfm  rnwun  Mint,  »b«  mily 

I   lit.  «irN»Ml)y  M«Ma  IImI  IIm  Im^M^  IWMl»H^y  ^  M^lth  .rf  |^|.  |«  M 

4rtri  wiMlH  wMiwaril,  mA  iM  »t»«  aifMigfl  ^m^  fih»kiM !»»  tbilf 
No«w4timNl  ujrtil  mwilHua,  f.  iwa  trf  ih«  hhwi  iMibitiM  «>>l«fH«  ilm  hMar 
"  1  |i«»a«nl,  aMil  MM^iily  llm  mm4  li.»»|>|.  |  |„y  lranMt««>  «»'«|MUa  • 
r  Wrtiiim,  wHafHiy  iliKir » (»».Mwfa..iMm  aiMlHa  a  valiiMly  •»(  avvawl 
I  aw  hiHiri  (Wil  K  la  a^an-aly  |M«aalM%  Ih  mmWm  \\sm  »«mwiiwMiMa 
IWMliNMMl  l)y  riNMy.  aak^aaiiHi  n...  Ili.i«|i^mlllk«.  mw  i«  l^ttM. 
f^mlDM  Ih  <«rtn«atl  tvlili  aiWiliut  t^iHltil^liriP^maUiuiti,  tlWJiNilli*/ 
Mrtjhljja IttM  an  \mm'^^m liH|Hiiti»ft%  ^»,(  »*u <|,w,  |h ^^ 
PliMllMn  w  wwita  v.aaaaitt  |i«vm  i|«m4  lMi«%'^|»«»f4«|wi| ,  «.,h4i>  h,tv«  !»##(? 
|li»«H»H  Hf»»«  iHr  III. I  ■.MHi.  hava  HmI iHair  M(Ha  t^itmiilfialr  lufniiMit, 
•r  *»Mti|  III !««,  ami  .Mhaia  Imh  Mh  w*%nm  Uy  rjii  N,  aM  NrMil 
*— "**)!»•  bplpiilfiaiiiiimia 


^y 


-N** 


■MilMN 


(,.. 


'A 


t<|6'       iMtTMMs  tmtm  nmtt  u  rffvmx„     [Viu. 

Mnt  U^do  wna  to  kw|i «  »H«rp  Uk»Ii  out,  will  tht  vtwg 
e*r«(uUy.  An«»  «««»•  mlv^utftg*  ol  ev«ry  cli*n«i  of  g«U)n|  to 

vlt'now||t«w  cmUler  thiin  ever,-l»»«  tliMtnt  !•"«*'•• 

•Imoit  bW  with  fog,--t.»tt«ml  dlmy  d«u»li»  c»m«  cmwHInj 

over  the  hrnven.,   -whllti  WINo.i  mt.viHi  ii«t.««i  y  «»««« thi 

ilwck,  with  tht»  Air  of  t'»»MAn.lr*  ftl  Ihi?  |«mrtrt8rrttion  of 

^roy.    It  Wrt»  8«n«l«y.  »h«'  Uth  "'  .'"'V'  ^w**  ^  •"*''  *  '*'** 


itwivlnry  rmtpy  lh«t  »  ^^^mW  hii«r  th«»"»wwt  t\\\mh  he\\*"[\i 
KofUnii  p«iHim  «m«.  the  t^hi  wHIt^  rt*t*  which  mrr, 
r«Mmh.l  ^,  M  U*U.»»«.»«  nv.  o',jo.k  t.M,.  th.  wh«l 
*hifhMi  rt  H«i  or  »wo>«t>  fl«w  tmmH  Jnt.^  thr  nouth  «wt.. 
Not  l««B  ^ftt^r,  Ht  .«  rh«H  eHpe<M.th«  lc««vMrWiy 
\mtm  lo  Immnttv-^  ph«oi»log  or»««lnB  wm  W«t«if\  fjom 
,h.  WAit  h»i«H.  •  mil«  or  m  itw*y  on  Jh.  i?^>rt  imw.  «n.i  l»y 
ninetA'i.vk  w«  wt^rt.  ^mk^n^  rtl«mg.  At  the  rrtie  .rf  e|«W 
knot»  AM  hoft^,  umier  a  iloiihir  rt.t'fetl  mAii^wil  AhU  »t«y»AU 
-4iow«  A  i'«ntUiUlH^  witieMittit  elui«»M)l,  lH.tw«e«  »wo  waw- 
lAAhetl  ritln*^  .»«'tlrift  i««,  Ikifow  midolght,  wt  W<i  f 
^  •    «|jc«  ■•*,  Arttf  w#w  AtSndlHi  «w«y 


*«T«  W»wTOw*yi 


6^ 


T«  N»rf«w*y «»«» <N  *••«•' 

In  th«  >iiJoon  I  hwt  been  tmi  buAjrlo  h«v«  our  uiUAl 
SltWuy  «kun:h  i  but  aa  aikmi  wi  Wt  w«re  ^W^  »a««r  of  thi 
l-C  I  WAHaH  ^  »»*»««  *  ihort  i»rvlc«  iMk«  «AWiii  -^ 
^  Of  otif  Twn  to  HA»ii»wrft»«t  I  hAw  nothing  pArUctjjAfr  to 
ity.T  th«  lii^lAHC*  i«  Might  hundred  tniici,  am*!  wr  diii,^! 
in  •Ight  ilAy*.  On  the  whoie,  tlw  weAther  waa  p^ttf  f^f, 
Ikongh  tM»Mr«tMi  «»ft««  ^W'    ^^  «itiy  Inrftwl  XrAA  J*^ 

|icl»  lo»«iy,— tl^  «»«  ^»*»»«  *^  "'*^«  *^  *******  ^  ^^"^^ 
Ut«ii,-*iH»outA  etoMfi  to  Mb  wn  f«»r  the  A^Ace  of  twenty 
l^ttl  ItMtn* )  giving  4ne  An  «p|H»rtwnitrof  wAiik^wg  t|||  inn 
piiloftning  hiA  tH»irt»»i«t»  |ii*l«  ov«rheAd»  Ami  tl^klnfc  a  l*»j 


•:^%.r 


v4' 


V     *  X 


■\ 


'',,*' 


U 


t     , 


1    *'.' 


rttlt«n  •ttiltHit  lit  mMntfht..W«  wtrathwn  in  70"  t.V  Nortir 
UMlitttie  i  ^.  *„  KtitUMi  AM  fur  iiitrih  wt  the  North  t;iif»a  1  y«t 
tiM  thermometar  hntl  Inwh  up  to  A*"  tlyritif  th«  Mlt«riUMir6 
Shortly  «ft«rw«fiU  th«  ftiK  (mnni  tin  iig«in,  And  nMt 
nmrittnii  •»  w«»  hlowlnit  v«ry  h«nl  frmn  th«  o«iiwi»rd.  Tiib 
WikM  tlui  moru  tllnttgrviuililu,  mt  ll  In  iilwtiyii  v«ry  tliltteuil, 
jiMtor  ihc^tMt  (AvorAltIt!  linmniHlnnoffn,  to  Ami  ont'*  wiiy 
tnto  *ny  htirhor  nliii^  thin  t'ljoNt,  f«tM«tl  off,  m  It  I*,  inm 
lh«  (immn  tfy  A  cnmitlluiti  nl  autinirlt  of  lufty  UI«nilR«  whluli 
fn  dMlr  turti,  Art)  hi}»nni9il  In  tiy  n«»tM  uf  iiunHiin  ffieli,  loWn 
M  thivk  AM  IMM,  for  niiluN  to  mmwArfl.  'rhertt  tm)  noptlotN  * 
until  you  Ai^  «»lthln  tho  iNlAndii,  «ntl  no  l»ii||«r  WAnt  th«in. 
--v\%^  li^ht!ll<W*w«  «tr  IwMcniM  of  Mny  «ort  i  Autl  nil  thAt  you 
havo  tuf»  by  li  lh«^HhA|i«  of  the  hiil'topn  \  tmt  hr,  on  thn 
t<l«An>iit  cUy,  the  outtinu  of  ihu  mouniainii  Ikvo  ithimt  uh 
myeli  VAriti^  ah  the  tv«th  uf  a  imw,  auU  as  on  a  wluu«ly  (lAy« 


X. 


whi«h  hApfHinA  ihoift  itvtfi  llnMi  a  weeli,  you  m«  nntMnn 
hut  thi'  linn  <iJ  1ht»lf  »Urk  rmuii,— tho  unforlunntn  ml|irUi«r, 
who  ipwn  pitMng  rtlMiut  for  the  nnrrow  pnnNAip  which  Ik  to 
leAtl  him  lielween  the  hlrtnilN,  -"At  the  thi>'lt^<\m  of  whlnh 
A  pllttt  Id  wAhlng  for  hlm,-~wlH,  In  aI!  pmhAblllty,  Iihva 
AlfttAfly  plAeetl  hlN  \aMi«Hn  a  poAltbn  to  r«ntl«r.th*t  ntt^ 
tltwAry'i  further  AHentUnte  n  work  of  HupererofiAllon.  At 
li'AAt,  t  know  It  WA«  AH  nuirh  Murprliie  mn  pteAiure  thAt  I 
eKfwrleneed,  when,  After  hAving  with  tnAny  mU||lvingN  ven' 
ttiriMi  t«  lillp  thrmmh  tn  opening  in  the  montitnnouA  hArrl- 
OAde  kk  nHiuntAlnt,'  we  fmind  it  waa  the  right  chAnnel  to 
mtr  iNtrt,  If  iho  king  of  aII  the  OothN  wmild  imiy  Atl^ 
)tp  A  Ili^thouHA  here  And  Utere  Ak>ng  th»  edge  of  Ml 


r 


V. 


^       ■>'^ 


f  "■ 


J 


llL     'I 


.'jp. 


lA 


IS©  MTTAAW  f^AHKU.  fffiiff  I A  rtti  fifix         [y\  1 1, 

ArcUf  f «a)tmml,  1h»  wtiuUI  imivp  mtuty  an  liwiiuMt  r«M»wii 


ItiimtMorftml  Iji-iiiHUtHily  wnilhy  (if  iny  WrtNlltiit  piiprnii 
h.  Whv'H  I  loli  )<iujhHl  It  in  lh«»  numi  iKjrUuMl)  luwn  In 
KMri)|H<,  I  think  t  ))iivt>  mi^Tti4tDii>4l  Iim  niiiy  nmmrkiihiw 
ehiirMiU<rlNili\  ||  tn\m^n  m\  iIiu  t»t(ip>  oC  tin  ciHMPtinHMi 
ih»i*i  uf  wdiUM,  itim|iU*b>ly  liiiMllm^vrl  by  «hr«w  inMiHlN, 
mnl  t>«ut>«Ui<i  uf  (» (UH)i>^'K'*'^*i***'  WfM»»i»t«  hoH»w4>»,  pt(tii(t>r»*(( 
u|i  i^iit'iliiNi  it  Mi<«>p  HiimiKiiln  i  uMinf)  ii(  Hhirh  )>•  tiiK  liitlll 
OH  ^IImh,  (ji\,>  ihtt  iiHilim  t»f  lh«  |ilrtft?t"<if»s h>M-i>H|»|H»»l  down 
ti(f  ilu«  hill  l)«il(  wtty  iiiiii  tht)  MMi, -ih  |M»|miii(lnM  tn  MitHiHl 
wv,— hi  I  hluf  f<H)MtriN  thli^  *H«I  i\mi  \  hit  oil  whiM»,  nwn  Mr,. 
WuMiiyH  "  HtimUHHtli,"  wh»tri''^>!(>  ^Hl  hi»l  nil  mirh  milt 
t«r»  Niurh  mttro  eh*«ir(y  mul  ii»i^^^ly  m>(  ihiwn  \\\m^\  Mm 
Hk#)y  iti  «tiil«  tlHtm.  At  nil  ^vimiM,  It  iiriMhKtw  ittltk, 
«rvAmo-W  Itultvr  .  itittui.  iit^t  ImiI  |MMtiliM<Nj  whioh  In 
whfit  w«  iiiv  ttiiitt  tnit>r«iiiii»(t  H  III  |m>mM(l,  To  thinii  (liiit 
you  nhfittM  Iw  nil  rt<LVi<IUnii  lh(i«  yvty  m«mi«iU  In  Kr««t«  imnm 
tuu(*«Muitrti>w«r».  I  hi«)w  y<t^«  ilon't  fviriitM  yimf  ^rwiM  Iw 
f«iri  ftituHir^  -  "         , 


*•..•' 


lwi|[fA< 


f  will  wilitt  hi  )mr  mtiiin  biidHrttt  Mvtiinit  Mil  tnt  ll|>iM> 


■  *. 


x'    ' 


..^. 


■XT 


'  ■•  w*. 


■*!       «•*,, 


r.isi-*... 


■? 


wr^ 


r      f. 


i+ 


•         t 


IlriTlfiH  IX, 

t.: 

IWiniAliT  muM  Tir«  ^'ifMNtrMUH  "  iir  THN  |lit  jUI.V. 

I  NAVN  rtetlvftl  M  e<}|ty  n(  lilt  ••  M(»nltyur "  tif  ihf  4111 
July,  MmMinlnK  m  jftn^^ m  Awm\s\«li\w  vuyAgM  iif  ^Ht 
" Mi^  ihHmt*"  inwiirtlii  li\\  M<t)i»iVi  miii  nf  th»  »iilii< 
tro^H«  to  hur  Nnibr  tlu'  '^^w.*?^*"  -In  t)iiititi«i)Uttitt)i)  af 
whl^h  tlt«  iHtrvfll*  wnM  (tim|Hi||«Nl  to  iilmiittMH  h«r  y(tyiig« 
tn  lh«  Norihwurdr^iluit  I  mint  larwiinl  i(  (0  ytiUi 


< 


4k^^  La  IliiNiiifitiif mimii.' 

**  It  Mt  to  iH«  Ittt  uf  «n  t^RiMir  ttf  th*  t^'nmeh  ndvy.  M. 
Ji4m  <N  MMMMvllki,  tot  miwiM^i  !*•  M«|tluit>  ihttMi  tUfttunt 
IMfta.  Mttl  tri  uliid  ij^n  litt«r«Nit  mm  ttt«««),  littth  by  Ittn  (!)•• 
uoviri«ii  Mini  liy  hi«  tmifliKii  tinil  |inimtiiiir«  ttHtl, 

'*ln  tH«  NiirlMH  »t  iN.1,1,  *hi  iIii»  tir««ihtii|t  ^H*  **'  *  f'^^U 
'iS#£<IWiw>'  itmltr  lte«*  itimmiiml  iMI  Mmm  Iithvii  «»lll«tr, 
iMomNMl*!!  In  )}4mI^  tItnHtf h  IN  MmftfJff*  iwiif ly  iiti  Ht 
Ittitiicitt  ^",  Nmt  III  •urv«ylii|  iilMiMt  llitriy  lnimiiiDi  til  tnMiit 
to  the  Miulh  of  thMi  iNtUuHf'  M\m  liMvttti  rvtHrntNl  irthal^ 
•liCTIllniji  »A  th«  iHinat  of  lutlnntl,  h^  inlliHl  ii||ii(it  In  /it^ 
iw  •  Mmnrt  «lt«m|i(,    li'mp  ilMt  tlmt  Hitthlim  \km  kmm 

•  •  •  •  •  .        •'         • 

"Tht  followlhg  y»«r  iM  *  ilnNMi^'  wii  mni  t«i  innli 
tef  III*  *  iMii^*  \m  (ouml  th«  wli«tl«  nmth  ol  l«tl«M 


,  i 


/ 


./- ,  • 


i-  -^-t^-^ 


H.V-:^ 


•:4V 


; 


\  ■ 


»s^> 


/V-' 


Ulmlitd  up  by  Iw-ftfWij  And  rituriMd,  hMvIm  bHu  iiott. 
H  in  «»«  liimiifb  lie  ih»  Miirth  Citt.,  ^ 

•  •  •  •  ♦  •  • 

Ai  *  v«y«|»»  tti  Ui«  U«nliih  tttlniti«i  mi  ih«  wtit«rit  diMil 
III  Ur««iilAi^|  f^rmiMl  pm  of  iltn  m  haiiii;  uf  mir  Mrt>il<<  ntivl- 
«aMoi»,  ^i  wIm  *w«»^*i  ottr  litHnrturo  frrHit  furl.,  ilmt  it 
wii»  i}Mrinii^|iltii««  III  tniili«  ixirMtvt*  w«||  «^u«iii|Mi  wtlh 
\\w  •miifc>m)Mri  .i(  ih.«  |,n  rt#lii,  fi.Hn  H^yhjitvlli  tQjInjMi 
►'•iiiiwwll.     IftiUlilli,  w^  wwn.  iiiUithiiiK  m  l'«u.rh«iiM.  iIin 
jflHvltwl  iwrt  Uw  tti«  ttuhtiiiir  vi*ii«f«U«t«i»MM«U  f.ir  thi)«..rtl 
n^ty, Jhi.  I^hu,.,  AHii  M.  lb  lA  HitiHilkm,  (Jttiwmrtiuler  .if 
/^  ^rf^-/!^A^i^'  nniimrwl  «lhH«  iHmvtrMllitnR  wMtv 
lh«  lUiieriH«H  Jiui  hmumwmI  Jmrn  Hi«lr  iiiriitK  fii|wi|(i|(Mt^ 
jwwi  tmtMiruni  lulMrmrtitiiii  m\  ihi*  iiiHmaI  Miit«  ur  th«  im, 
TMy  l««rHi  fhm\  ih»m  iltiii '  MAvt|t.iiloii  wna  i?om)ilfttly 
Jim.  tW«  5?wirniu«il  lliii  wMi)  of  |y«liiiHl  j  ihm  lh«  \m 
jMM  M»tiUi|t  •»•»)*»  Mny-H  Ultintli  miM  miwimtifilHi  it  hi 
A  iU»{^m^  «l  nlMiut  (wMHiy  h^mn,  mm\Hm\  iIhwh  (tiu 
WttlH'Wfl^nltiiii  ih«  mmi  .»f  UiDfniMiui,  lnu  wiitiiiui  liliNik 
ing  >Hi  IbM  «Hiiiiiiil  wMiih  MtHHPil9i  iMi  iniiat  fruin  iHkt  i»( 
liwlittd.     I'Htw*  imhu^liw  clTBMmiliiiMNw  u|M*nml  a  im w 
ft«M  l«  wir  «»|iriiriii(iinpi.  tty  uMii^kIhk  »»•  l«  wrviy  aR 
lh«l  jNirt  wf  (hii  /t,tym»^  whiDli  MMiKHiiM  m  ihn  nnrih  ml 
ie«Ntiii,  ilut«  ftirmlim  «»  twimimimlim  in  ih»  citMnrvnUoiii 
mnil^Hy  Ht«  *m*4mM'  «wl  l«  ihttM  wlij|«H  m  nttmrfivti 
iHlviwIiM  III  iimiii*  HurtAf  mif  vnyii|ri»  i«  ^Ifiwiilimti,    Thf 
l»WfH«il..M  ,wrt«  hiM  Kr«««(  fur  tho  l»r<Mii»  i  ii|hI  kimiMnmtar 
«•  l«  KtuiiAliM  WAn  iiMi  A  Htnti  IH  iillnw  *|i  npptirtuntiy  tn 
•prrtim  rw  4«»i>uiitig  tt  iimjMi  wKlfh  tim4M»^[tiifn  im  Mm 
with  (Itii  tfh«nitti«r  r»*  tlnHtHT  «iwl  Hnvtlty. 

Umi  Ihw  iliMttiilii^i  iif  thd  wnmr^lto  wwMMftiMM  NiiHiif 
MHih  A  mum  thiM  nti  nnn  hiii  a  "-"  r  ripirtijiMil  (n  nn^. 
pilHin  (a  nA)«AliiK  of  A|«|ir»«UitHR:  Tht>  •  m4m  mmm ' 
lA  « ithnrmlim  tilwAiurvli^i,  im  th*  nlfiini  vtfy  r*iw  nf  itt« 
rt>t|ulA)lft  fur  ^  \m$  vfiyii#i.  a^I  cIia  waa  ttvAtdtt^  of 


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Mxr^AerPMM  fWM  **mMfmui^.» 


m 


•II  iHt  iiMMiiiiJ  ti^iilpinant  liiftlii|i«iiiiibl«  (nr  a  Imig  Msjourtt 
In  tiM  Im\  ThfNi  wm  mnni  Ihm  (hi  iIn  tUyn*  im«l»,  mul 
'  for  Ihrt*  \wt«lii'  wmitr,  Ai  \»  iltv  Mtli.  (ih«  mtt)<  My 
lh«  m»it»  of  Iht*  rnrvsMfi  Mrn  iiiarwt)'  fnr  dhitw,  Mmt  tMI 
'wltlmiii  Mifiim  It  wmthl  |j«  hii|ioiitliii  In  rwDkuM  uii  hir 
liking  iwy  wn)'  miiiliirly  tml  unlnti»rni|ili»Hl](,  Ailfl  t«t 
fhlR,  thiit  iht  It  IhiIIi  (if  lrnii,-«(tMt  It  lf»  My,  mt  \tm  alitfl 
of  nIniiii  iwn  niiittdiiMriM  (Itlok  CMimllliilv*  iiH(h«i'  ftlditlf 
llifr<-«dlHl  Ihiit  li«^  ilwiik  Htivliliiit  Ititii  twulvH  if^Mt  (lAiinlii 
Ir  trt  wtuik  ttiMl  It  htiR  IwuM  ilumuhr  lHt'«t|Hililti  m(  irtrtyiiig 
lUttN  |)hi|M>rilitn«r|  lo  h«r  Umudgn,  Tlioifi  wliti  hilVM  IMWH 
ih«  intiMlyti  vaiMU  or  fhii  Ath«rmiiit  ttf  I't t»rk»iitli  th»lr 
wnnriitonN miriUlii  plmtktnu,  thAlr  hrtKingn rtiiil (ii<i(tiiilti||it in 
wihkI  Mitrl  in  Irtiii,  rtnil  ilmir  liit«r(uii  kH»»M  hiiiI  ■UiidUmoin 
miiy  Ittrm  «n  Mm  Inim  iiu«lt  ^rMDmilitiiR  '«im)MiiMl  >y  IwtK 
M|>trltiitt«  of  ihii  n4iiir«  of  Hid  {|«ti|firi  ilmi  tltt  Rliii«k«-(ir 
•Vin  ItiR  itrnMurw  fif  iltM  Inn -m«y  vAiitii  In  n  iMi^"!)!  I'Hi 
IttitiitUit  (hut  w«  w«r«  |t>ltm  t(i  •ii((litr«,  V 

^  •  •  •  •  •       . 

t.  K.  l*Hiief  >(ii^ibun,  Tbtii  vvmmiI  wM/AiH^vmr  Al 
,  IUiykjwn»<  Uw  iamw  tiny  f;f»«l  w<t  iliil,  ik«t  A««h  wC  jtiiiii  «lt 
I  A  ilMm  •<'li«Hm«r,  with  V«tltll««,  ■t«iiiUim  lli^  ma  wtli, 
V««rryiiig  mulMk  for  iwtlvt  (rtAyR,  lutit  wIlH  «  tlt)il«)r«ttly  mIiiw 

Wr  ftiiinii  b««l^ii  nt  iit>];k|Mvlk  tlif  w«r  lr«nft|»»M  'id 
MvD^^'Aiid  twti  Knillih  itdirtliAnl  iit»Nm»ri,,ttMk->' iHif 
mmki'  Awl  tN«  '«%«M»,'  frwlghttd  by  ih«  AilmlrAlly^H* lt|k« 
to  iMlitid  wMla  metMAry  fer  attl*  v^NW"  In  OrMnlAni'. 
THma  (l¥«  vammiIa,  with  (Im  fH|iiilt  *:Si^m^'  wH|%>tl ' 
Iiirm#4l  thv  diitkii  nf  |MNrdiiHi|t,  fiirm*)«l  Itir  I im ({«•«(  «n]ifwlV»n 
whii'lt  liAd  «iv«r,ttAMmM«d  ii|ti  (Imi  HatImm  mI  llti  um^KiA  ^ 

-4*^1  Alld. 

UntominAtfly,  iImhmi  vaHmI  Atid  numfiriHiA  flAmAiiM 
HtMl  nnlhiim^n  eMnnMm,  And  CoimiHMtorji,  dt  Ji  Vlttiuiilrt 


1 


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Ifi 


i^Mfmmi  miM  itmHMfinmM      |ix. 


'  IMM  •««  tllAl  tlliralMMIII  Ibtp  1»«il»t1  ilirnrfl  Hi  NH  mMI*^ 

♦iJlitiil  ••iwtJiy )  «Hf(,  In  ilHirt,  (tint  (Hi  •  tt^im  m»imt^^- 
«WliM  h'  i«>  »*•♦  '««i  l»«r  ilwH  MHr»(*(i««  whhM  tiiH  )iH«w 
KmhI  VMyrtgiMM  l«ml  V*  m^m  m  \w\m\\  nlmw,    M^iWMv#r, 
»Hiil«;H||IUh)^fHiilii  \4  tlm  '.V.MWi»^  M«tir«*MliH(  il  gti^fti 

•u^jitl  «  i»ir(  »il  HuMmwT  V4»»t»y,  tt»»Miii  prnmUlng  <iit 
«vtfi|ii  •iMtfiit  4f  «»v«H  iifiiHii  .♦«  h««r,  It  J***  ilwlilwl  (Imu 
--«<«••  ♦•vnnlii,  thAt  \*imv>\  nS\m\i\  itrtrt  nlmw  Willi  (Iim 

•"^W   ♦wwffWri'T^    wtfnvP  ""ft'lf  wi    Wt#m  If  W(M(|I|  fit*   lilt  I  # 
|fimpl«HUH,  III  lIlM  HVWNt   H  Itrlltdtllll   HHii  l(  It  IhW    ««l 

•MM  mnMiiii  iM  wi«*i  III  Jrtii  MrtinH'n  ti^Mttl,  tun  <lm4lnri» 
fttiiit  iiMi  iKiruK**,  1'lw  ^M«|^  M»*##w,*  Imil >*liy  <|»i»  hiil|i 
fi» «  Mnnil»«wiiij»M' Uml  ttn  iIihH  ^  iti^i|iiy  rtf  toHiU  (or 

M  (h«»  Mi««MiHHpr«  t«»lM^i«tii  A  miMnrtil  4ilitwiiH«» 

«t  w*iiii-  ""SiiM  ' 

A  *wu  "  '^'^P'**  !«*<'♦♦*«  mMw  wiiy,  Mw  ii«|wrfll4rifi 

W«i  INlM^llitlixl  nf  lIlM  ^HllKlliiM  «|  H  IMW  MtHNfirflllllll,  l|llllM 

imii»|Mii*l«i  W»  fmiiiii  III  Hwyhjuvlk  imrtmr  a  v#«|ii  b*. 
Iwi»ii««  IH  |-if,|  IHtirnHii,  1'hii  l>Hiiw,  Mulng  hlufwiii 
iImIhi  Im  ¥l«ll  ilm  HtflKhlitirhimtt  nf  fnv  M<i^ii,  HlftNti  m 
liikt  Nil  ti<hmiii»f  III  im  rtf  iHn  '  ftHi^  Hmtrntf,'  tl  »«#  a 
^lHMnA^^•  Ai>i»l()i«n(  fM^n  Atilivf »( m«rltlmir  A<|v«N»iinii  i  «^ 

All  HhUI    ArmmAllU,  (hw  ^H})IimHIhH    NAVllIf   lt9«N   fAftllV 

AW»|im.f,  ilm  ^iiilUNniAH  «VA«  Ali%>htt(  liy  iwit  Innf  wilifN 

W  Ml^  •iMHl  Hf  Mill  l>ltH»t(«, 

m  IH*  yO»  •♦♦  iMly.  »•!«.  «i  l«w  «*»iii«»i  In  iH»  mimi.  ^ 
iHtf,  Alwr  A  liAli  ilvwH  ky  riiimiHAtiiiwr  rfn  ll|«>  nn  IwaM  Um    ' 

In  WW,  lull  ll«yk)Avlk  ImiImii,  tllrwi  IIiim  Iihi  h»mhh  %\tm$ 
Mii  ipil  »iiAM-«#  ItiKlAKfli  IrtWAhl*  I  MiiimUrflMHl,  (^HiNvle 
mm  IH  |«»|(i  tlt«  '  i«MANi '  wHI«h  HmiI  1»fi  a  fni^  litmrt  intfutit 
m^    h\  4\m  h'wHhjI,  iHit  HiHiii  vhmmU,  ttiitrinf  •aii^hhhIi^    ^ 
m^^  m\\M  ♦!»•  iwliii  rtf  CV  MimH,    Ai  winitt  nnf  nk 


■-#^fj,3<j»       .     H->fc3I^ 


n  J^  . 


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itfvtMilM  ^  tH«  Mtititii  tiiAiMKi  m  «bimt«f ,   ^  Hidf  lint 

lh»f#tt  iM>r»iM  i«w  iij  i(tM  tuning fti|iiHi  iiHiiMMi  l,«mt  lltif 
^rt«  III  H«mV  nfti  M  HI*  ^MN  N  mtr  fwnrmi*,    H»»  MvMt)! 

III  t*rr»«)()K  {\w  |it«lnr  tlnlM,   ,Ai  H»  ll»i»  •  .%,?•*#,*  M  iN  )« 
Hime»>fi»  pti«)viirt % ilite  tltiHilHitf  \\w  mirthv  Ri»itHH 
imm  Hull  {HWAHttHHl  twi  fHH»»li  MM  t«i4  ^t*Nir,    1'h*  ;hv#w#  • 
<^  •¥ktt»itly  In^^teM  i»r  M)«m(tm  m.     TN  i^niHiiiii 

♦IwWttW,  HWll^  f!l«t  tit||n.lt   ♦Km  iH«  Wttft  »M  i«ll«  ll«f  HW« 

Itjill  illi»^fi«itriil,  ilmw  Mr  (Mtfi.  Hurt  Im  iHt.  wVinUin  «v»'f> 

•     /         •!  •  ."    •    .        ■     •, 

iMrAfihywiiiir  tim(itrw«>tM  I  mMHi  u)iM  urn!  t^itinimil 

trtlwmif*  >^«hi.)  /SI  Hm»  iiUMi»«'Ml  llw  vwatiii  (ilHitiiw) 
IrttH  «  (NHili  r»|  (iin,  \\m  \mm\i  »t  wIMvH  w*»  wi>r«  KHrtNlwtl 
Ifi  «iM«fli)tt.  Nmm  iM  wwMmiwmw jjiI  tl^lIgM  (rt  iHwvii^  Imh 
itNltM  m  IHI«  Wimrrtt  IH«  ywir.  f Mw iir«  k^m  IImi  Imivii 
H«  rfiHiH  lit  ilHuhl  1^  UNI  Hyu  it|i)^(Mrt«>(a(Ht  \U*  mm  »w», 
i'rtw  wMimffK  I    Ml  tin  «'«((*«ii  IH  Um»  tuuiiiiim  ih«  Mm«m 

fin  Wftlft|  §»««  MttHM  IM  IM  iM)}  H  IMIWI  »»  ll««l«,  UlMMKitHll 

•I  IM  Afiit  Nw,  4  hw  mlmHM  Nwr  tti»  Hii  vlynN  w|i 
»wftti»Mly  »  !« r»»y  nf  iunthlnit  ||iM«  lH»  mk^  «f  H<i»  i|««i, 
ilihtlKM  M|#  wiHIhhii  uI  \m\m  ^(  n^\k\tii$  m\iUv^,  «i«i«h«|< 
,  Ink  i«i  iU#  (MiUm  KinU  (li  U«t«  liwiium,  1'h««w  m  Uw  tit. 
iMhuH  HumiHiwIii  wli)«h  (ih*«»*  hh^  AiKiitiiniNi  lH»  MM 
!••  *  iMy  IMwHw  l«  t|»ii  nhM  Ih  HMmbr  M  *•  )*Htwi»«i<, 


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I  ll      ,IM  rntm  immt  ttrntt  u  Htvmts 


[IX. 


Al  thrtt  o'ekieli  h  tht  AfttrntMYn  wv  KinI  ourMivM  In  fram 
0*  •  J«rR«  p*«k  whleh  bloclii  u|i  th«  mii  htHmt  u«.  Wt 
•h!  nbtigmt  to  ch«»iiP'  our  cmirii^  In  •iitHc«t«  ounMlyM 
fmm  Ihw  let'  timi  mirrnuiulM  itn.  ;«?• 

.  .tJiU  latn  ttvaliilinit  rtqulring  on  «^«  \m%ja  tli«  Mfn> 
m^iifler  the  grt«t«fti  prRtlij^on  oT  tyv,  tM  «  fMrfwi  lino«l< 
fdiie  of  hU  khtp.  Thp  •  ihim  ilhrtmn:  gnlit|r  Ntf  Hwad, 
with  All  th»  ititi^m  mill  the  ertw  on  d(H  k,  gll«(»ii  along  b»> 
lw«on  the  biticka  of  Ice,  mmvi  M  which  iihc  vevm*  $\mmX  to 
loych,  niHl  tb«  iim*llMt  ol  wlii«h  wouhi  iilnlt  \m  innttntiy 
ir  «  coHlilttn  ttMik  pUett.  Anoihtr  d«ii|tf,  which  It  U  •!> 
mcMl  ImprMiilhis  to  gu«rri«|(iiinii(,  thr«<iti*n«  a  v«Mel  In  thoae 
trying  moineniK.  H  a  plwi?  ol  Iim  g«t«  under  tho  Bi'mw,  It 
will  bt  ln«vlt«bly  tmiiAlimi  ltk«  glMi,  uml  th«  Go«tiie^«n«M 
of  Kueb  Mn  «ceMant  might  \m  fM«l. 

'I'he  tittle  RnglUh  Rchctoner  (ollowii  on  bni\*«ly ;  bouiMl  . 
Ing  In  our  tr*ck,  «mt  Avoiding  only  b)  a  conttAnt  w»tcl,i 
fuln«M  And  Ini^MMnt  Attention  to  the  helm  the  icebtift 
thAt  we  ItAve  cteAred. 

Ihit  the  diAculiiwi  of  title  RAvigAtlon  «rt  nothing  in 
fslcAr  weAther,  m  i^ompAred  to  what  they  erv  In  a  fen. 
Then,  notwiihAtAnding  (he  alowneea  of  the  Apeed,  It  r«> 
quitVA  Af  much  luck  nk  aMII  tt>  Avoid  eolll»io|M.  ThuA  It 
hAppened  thAt  Afltr  hAving  mwApcd  tht  Ice  a  firtt  tkne,  And 
having  Ateered  E.N.K.,  we  fbund  oureclvei  Auddwtly,  lww> 
Arda  twt>  o'clfick  of  thAt  aAmi*  dAy  (the  9th),  not  furtlMr 
thAn  A  quArier  of  a  miio  from  (he  field  ice  which  the  fog 
hAd  hidden  from  ua.  Oentnlly  Afieaking,  tiM  MmpriH 
IhAt  we  coAAted  Along  for  timt  dayii  tnd  th«t  we  trtcwi 
with  thf  greateat  oarr  for  neerly  a  hundred  ttagUM,  pf«- 
•ented  to  ua  en  irregular  line  of  margin,  running  from 
W.S.W.  to  E.N;K.,  And  thruiting  forwArd  towAitl  the  aoulh 
— Mpta  And  promontoriei  of  vaHoim  aUm,  Mid  ttrrsMd 
like  the  teeth  of  a  iaw.  Every  time  thet  we  bore  up  ttf 
liN.IC,  we  aoon  found  ouraeivea  In  one  of  dM  gulfa  of  too 


% 


IX.J 


M^rw4er  tw&M  twm  ••  mihraait 


*lt 


tttnnvd  by  th«  liutonMtloiiii  tA  Hm  Mmptk*.  tt  wm  only 
ky  M«triim  to  th«  8.W.  tliAt  w«  got  frt«  rrom  thi  ioifrii| 
i«tb«r|i,  to  rtMi««^r  ftirmtr  courit  m  soon  «•  Iht  ■«• 

WMClMf,       '  \      ' 

Hw  furthfr  we  mIvaiiimhI  to  th«  northwnrtl,  the  thtcktr 
hmwm  the  %  tmi  mora  Intsnie  the  cokl  (I  mi  (IcgrttM 
cwillf .  bo^w  ttro)i  iihI  tn^tw  whirM  round  In  squalla  of 
wM,  Atid  i«ll  III  Urfe  (Ukti  on  the  Heck.  ^^tlM  toe  begAi^ 
t«  prewnt  it  new  M»pecl,  enti  to  iMuine  thoie  f«ntii«UQ  •ml 
terriWo  lorme  entl  color*,  which  jwlntern  hnve  rnmlt}  f«mil- 
kr  to  iMk  At  one  time  It  MMumetl  the  tpfNiariince  o( 
tnountnln  (Miikt  coveretl  with  inow,  fummtil  with  v«lley« 
o(  frwn  emi  blue  j  more  frequently  the y  iip|Mttred  like  ■ 
Willi*  Met  pleteAu,  •«  high  m  the  ihiti't  deck,  egninM  which 
the  M«  rolletl  witli  fur)-.  hollowinK  '»»  wtge*  Into  guKis  or 
iMreeking  thtm  into  perpendicular  i  liflf*  or,  cavemi,  into 
which  the  een  ruehed  in  clouds  of  foAni. 

We  oftftt  peeaed  cloee  by  «  herd  of  Mult,  which— 
•tretrhed  on  these  floetinx  iiiirindA,  followed  Ihu  iiliip  with 
•  ttupid  end  puwleil  look.  Wi-  wet.'  fonlhly  struck  with 
tlie  contrest  between  the  ficticious  woHd  in  which  we  lived 
on  boeni  the  ship,  end  the  terrible  realities  of  nature  that 
surrounded  us,  Lounging  in  an  elegant  saloon,  at  the 
corner  of  a  clear  and  sparkling  f»rc,  amidat  a  thousand 
objects  of  tile  arts  «iid  luxtiries  of  home,  we  might  have 
bottovtd  tbat  we  had  not  changed  our  residence,  or  our 
habit8,or  our  enjoyments.  One  of  Strauaa's  walttife,  or 
tebubtit's  melodies  — phyed  on  thf  piano  by  the  band* 
■MMir  compleietl  the  illutiion  ;  and  yet  we  had  only  to 
rub  oft  the  thin  Incruatation  of  froeen  vapor  that  eovortd 
the  pnnta  of  the  windowa,  to  look  out  upon  the  gigantic 
and  terrible  forms  of  the  icebergs  dashed  against  tneh 
other  by  a  black  ami  broken  sea,.and  the  whole  panorama 
•I  Mtr  nftture,  ita  awful  riaks,  and  its  sinlMtr  splendora. 
•  •  o  •  0 


I: 


I-^'.  1,  »     .      ^' 


i««        iMnwMitimimeMunrvmt       [IX. 

MMnwIUI*,  «t  pratfUtiid  bM  wwf  alwiiiy.  On  Hm 
i«th  o<  July  ««  ««!  ttiU  hft  fvMN  Oht  MwMimi  ol  Jm 
MtywH  wh«n  w«  iwiiirily  fottiid  oitraMvw  tuntMindtd  by 
A  li«»  And  •!  tlw  bottoNi  of  on«  of  iIm  h«y«  i^MMd  l»y  Hm 
Nld  of  tec,  Wt  twekw)  iiiMii*di«t«ly,  Mid  jmH  tiM  •Mp  ^boiit 
but  tht  wind  iMul  Mcumulaiwl  tlif  kt  bpldiid  its.  At  « 
diMMiot  (ht  drcl«  that  rniekiMd  m  mmid  comiMMt  ami 
without  tgrew.  W«  r<m*Mftt^l  this««  the  mont  critiUI 
motiMiit  ol  our  expedition  HAvfog  tfkd  thia  icy  berritr 
•t  MUstml  polnta,  we  found  *  hmtow  find  tortiiout  duinnet, 
Into  which  we  ventured  ;  end  it  w«a  not  tUI  aHer  en  hmr 
of  Mnxieiiei  that  we  got  a  view  of  tlie  b|ien  aea,  and  of  a 
pa»»age  inl»j  It.  Ftwm  this  moment  we  wete  able  to  coaat 
•long  the  fiitrnfrnw  without  interruption. 

On  the  nth  of.  July  at  6  a.  u.  we  reached,  at  laM,  the 
meridian  of  Jay  Mayen^  at  about  eighteen  leaguet**  diatanoe 
from  thp  noiHhem  part  of  that  iiUand,  but  we  aaw  Hie  ice> 
^  field  itrciching  out  before  u»  as  far  at  the  ew  could  iweh ; 
hence  it  became  evidetu  ihnt  Jan  Maycn  was  Mocked  vp 
by  the  ice,  at  lAatt  along  iti  south  coast.  Tb  aM»ttiin 
whether  it  might  still  be  accesaible  ftttm  the  north,  it  would  t 
have  been  necefMry  to  have  attempted  a  circuit  to  tfiei|' 
eastward,  the  poasiMe  extent^  of  which  could  not  be  e^^ 
mated  ;  moreover,  we  had  consumed  half  our  opals,  and 
had  loat  all  hope  of  beint  rejoined  by  the  *  .^<SMtA  Hue 
forced  to  give  nip  any  further  attempt  in  that  direction. 
Commodore  de  la  Ri^icike,  having  got  the  ship  dear  of 
the  floating  ice,  todfc  a  W.S.W.  course  in  the  direction,  of 
Reykjavik. 

The  Instant  the  *  Jf*im  JbHmtt*  i»mumi  tMsnew 
eowse,  a  telegraphic  signal-^^  had  been  prevkNnlyar> 
ranged  — acquainted  Lord  Oidicrin  with  our  determiaa- 


'*^^r 


II  tMBk  Him  mwi  bt  MfMM  ari^he  hwe  t 
pMy  with  th«  «  ffftm  MtHmmr^  M  ««  _, 
4lMsnl  froM  Um  toiMlwm  MirilaHy  of  fm  Utxxfk, 


"^'•"^ 


'V 


li 

V    / 


IX.] 


MXrkAeT^»OM  fWM  '*MO^/T'Al/ff' 


l«l 


tkmt.  Almo*i|tmmftli«icl)r,  lh«  yotinK  I<ord  ntnt  on  botinl 
m  •  Un  box»  wilth  two  l«uer«,  onu  for  hl»  woilu-r,  iumI  ont 
Ibt  our  conim«M|tr.    tn  th*  l«ti«r  he  lUtvd  Ut«t-^Hmllitg 

^MniMlf  «l«Mr  ttf  th«  lc«,  unci  ihnater  o(  Vinjtran  movcmenu 
— 4ie  pr«ferreq  continuing  hin  voyngts  alone,  unc«rt«in 
whether  ho  »h^hl  at  onto  |>u»h  for  Norway,  w  raturn  to 
Scotland.'  /Fho  two  ropes  that  united  th^  vcaaela  ware 
th«n  mat  off,  n  forawell  hurrah  waa  given,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment the  RngJinh  achooner  wan-loat  In  the  fog, 

Our  return  to  Reykjavik  afforded  no  incident  worth  no- 
Hett  the  */f/HKr://#rM»xr*  keeping  her  courtc  ouiiilde  the 
kt,  tncounttrtd  no  impedittient,  «xcept  from  the  Intenaa 

'  top,  whkh  forced  her— from  |l^  Imponiibtlity  of  aacertaln- 
ing  her  poaition — to  lie  to,  and  ancliorofi  the  cape  during 
part  of  the  day  and  night  of  the  i  jth. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th,  aa  we  were  getting  out  at 
the  Dyre  Fiord,  wheb:  we  had  anchored,  we  met— to  our 

~great  aitonlihment^lhd  *C«t^At[  procfeding  northward. 
Her  commander,  Sonnnrt,  Informed  ui  that  oh  the  evcuiitg 
of  the  tath,  the  '  Saxtut  '-^n  conneqtience  of  the  Injurtea 
the  had  received,^  had  been  forced  balk'  to  Reykjavik. 
She  had  hardly  reached  the  Ice  on  the  9tlt,  whenr  ahe  came 
into  colliaion  with  It ;  Ave  of  her  timbi^rs  had  l)een  atove 
In,  ami  an  enormous  leak  had  followed.  Becoming  water- 
logged, idM  waa  run  ashore,  the  tlnil»  time  at  Onundtirfiord, 
md  again  In  Reykjavik  roads,  whither  ahe  had  been 
brotqiht  with  the  greatest  dllAculty." 

t 

*  t  waa  pwtMteiy  vafet  aa  to  my  plaaa,  Ini  jrou  arfglit  learn  «§ 
aHllliittiMMioieeOi 

tt  * 


•\ 


— Sir 


LETTER  X, 


■  jtf-' 


\   _ 


TOpOLIC»— TNI  CN)Ar— IMID  MARIAM-^  LAPT  tMfr^-'4JkW¥ 
U»?B-MAKIMO— TNK  SK-HtUttCMAN— TKI  OOI^  tlUBAII 
-^^lli^TtC    CtmRS>mH->A  DtNOV  aXNUMTtOir— A   ICMOOy. 

or  r^iMTvnc  ntitit*— ALttN^Tiii  cmkruutu*,' «» 

«AArtQ^I>-n>tLL  NORTNWAItb  NOt 


Altkn,  July  aytk 
TNtt  letter  oiiiiht  to^  an  Eclogue,  lo  pMtonl  a  Ufa 
kftve  we  been  leadinf^  lately  among  ih«M  FdeaaaiitNordlaiicI 
\«lt«ya.  Perhaps  k  Uoitly  the  unusual  sight  of  meadows, 
trees,  and  flowers,  after  the  barren  sea,  and  Atill  more  bar- 
ran  lands  we  have  been  accustonwd  to,  that  invests  this 
neighborhood  with  such  «  smiling  character.  Be  that  as 
It  may;  the  change  h.«s  been  too  grateful  not  to  have  made 
us  seriously  reflect  on  our  condition  ;  and  we  have  at  last 
determined  that  not  even  the  envious  ocean  shall  for  the 
futitwctttus  off  from  the  pleaaures  of  a  shepherd  Itte. 
Henceforth,  the  boatswain  is  no  iongn  to  be  the  only 
swain  on  board  t  We  havu  purchased  an  ancient  goal— a 
nanny-goat'—ao  we  may  be  able  to  go  a-milkiog  upon  oc- 
casion. Mr.  Webster,  late  of  her  Majestj^A*  Footguwda, 
carpenter,  etc.,  takes  brevet-rank  as  dairy-maid ;  and  our 
vaa«rable  passenger  is  at  this  moment  being  inducted  into 
a  ittmptuous  barrel  *  which  I  havi!  had  fitted  up  for  ter  j«- 

*TIm  CMk  in  (fOMtioa  «m  boofht  in  ordkr  to  ke  rig|cd  up 
oaiiy  Into  n  crow*iHiwt,  at  aoen  ■•  w*  sI^^bM  afsin  fnd  ( 
itlMtca. 


»s 


■€ 


'^:  '. 


'*•./ 


S     r 


n 


^ 


:  1 

.  / 

!*/ 

i 

/ 

' 

« 

--   ■ 

V 

*■■ 

- 

^ 

i 

X.J 


A  t.At*r  lAOY, 


i«S 


J 


j: 


Mption  abaft  the  tstnnacle.    A  tpacioui  nwadow  o(  8t|Mt< 
K«nt«d  hay  has  been  hid  down  in  a  n«i(thborii)|  corjiar 
fo^  har  ftirthar  acctimuuKlation  ;  and  the  Doctor  is  tuninu 
lip  his  (Ugaolat)  in  ordar  to  contplcte  th«  bucolic  character  ^ 
of  the  Mane.    Thu  only  personage  amongst  ua  at  nil  dis 
concerted  by  these  arrangements  is  the  little  white  Im  ^ 
Which  has  come  with  us  from  Iceland.    Whether  he  coo^V 
aiders  the  admission  on  boanl  of  so  domestic  an  animal  Id  " 
be  a  reflection  on  his  own  wild  Viking  habits,  .1  catfibt 
•ay  \  but  there  is  no  impertinence— eveti  to  the  nibbing  of 
her  baard  when  Hhe  is  asleep— of  which  he  is  not  guilty   " 
towartte  the  poor  old  thing,  who  passes  the  greater  part  of 
bar  momlngt  in  gravely  butting  at  her  irreverent  tor- 
mentor. 

But  I  muat  relate  our  last  week's  proceeding  in  a  morv^- 
orderly  manner. 

As  soon  an  the  anchor  was  let  go  in  Hammerfest  bar-* 
bor,  we  went  ashore ;  and  having  first  ascertained  that  the 
existence  of  a  post  does  not  neceMarily  imply  letten,  we 
turned  away,  a  little  disafJpoinied,  to  examine  the  metropo- 
lis of  Pinmark.  A  nearer  insiiection  did  not  improve  tiie 
impression  its  ilrst  appearance  had  made  upon  us ;  and 
the  odor  of  rancid  dSdliver  oil,  which  seemed  indiscrimin- 
ately to  proceed  from  every  building  in  the  town,  including 
the  church,  has  irretrievably  confirmed  us  in  out  prejudices. 
Nevertheless,  henceforth  the  place  will  have  one  redeeming 
association  connected  with  it,  which  I  am  bound  to  men- 
tion. It  was  in  (he  streets  of  Hammerfeat  that  f  first  set 
eyes  on  a  Laplander.  TurninR  round  the  comer  xA  one  of 
the  ill-built  houses,  we  suddenly  ran  over  a  diminutive  little 
personage  in  a  white  woollen  tunic,  bordered  with  red  and 
yellow  stripes,  green  trousers,  fastened  round  the  ankles, 
and  reindeer  boots,' curving  up  at  the  toes  like  Turkish 
slippers.  On  her  head — ^for  notwithstanding  the  trouseia, 
•he  totrned  out  to  be  a  lady — ^was  perched  %  gay  parti* 


TT 


iCfi 


lArrAA's  rAiKV  wan  lATinnKis. 


fX. 


.ft»loro<lci|>,ruimRduw  muml  ihe  face,  and  runninR  up 
nt  Ihe  Liii-k  iiut>  an  <.\crart  hin^  y^Sk  of  rwl  cloth.  Wiihui 
Ihlf  jH.ak  was  cranuucil— as  1   artcrwarUs  le»mt— a  piece 


A   LAPr    LAOV. 


of  hollow  wood,  weighing  about  a  quarter  of  a  pound,  into 
which  is  fitted  the  wearer"s  back  hair;  so  that..^iperhaps, 
after,  all,  there  docs  exist  a  more  inconvenieht^^nr  that 


a  B|fisJ»nnet 
Ha 


lavdfy  had  we  taken  off  our  hats,  and  bowed  a  thou- 
sand apologies  for  our  unintentional  rudeness  to  the  fair 
inhabitant  of  the  green  trousers,  before  a  couple  of  Lapp 
gentlemen  hove  in  sight.  They  were  dressed  pretty  much 
like  their  companion,  except  that  an  ordinary  red  night- 


-  -iuSa'^toS'X'-  -  , 


X.J 


LArr  iit:A/rt.tiM£A 


•67 


cap  replacuil  the  queer  helmet  worn  by  the  lady  ;  a,nd  the 
knife  and  sporran  faatencd  to  thc^r  belts,  Mi»tead  of  being 
lUHpended  in  tront  an  here  were,  hung  down  against  their 
hipa.  Tfieir  tunicH,  too,  may  have  been  a  tririe  shorter. 
None  of  4he  three 'were  beautiful.  High  ctw^ek  bonca, 
ahort  no.ses,  oblique  M<»ngf>|  eyes,  no  eyelashes,  and  enor- 
notts  mouths,  composed  a  cast  of  features  which  their 


*  iAr»  lAov's  ■oMm 


burnt-sienna  complexion,  and  hair  like  iil-got-in  hay  did 
not  much  enhance.  The  expression  of  their  countenances 
was  not  unintelligent ;  and  there  was  a  merr)',  half-timid, 
half-cunning  twinkle  in  their  eyes,  which  reminded  me  a 
little  of  faces  I  "had  met  with  in  the  more  neglected  dis- 
tricts of  Ireland.  Some  ethnoloe^sts,  indeed,  are  inclined 
to  reckon  the  Laplanders  as  a  bfench  of  the  Celtic  family. 
Others,  again,  maintain  them  to  be  Ugrians ;  while  a  few 
pretend  to  discover  a  relationship  between  the  Lapp  lan- 
guage and  the  dialects  of  the  Australia^  savages,  and  simi- 


iiu&tdl5i,-*u\s^ 


/ 


/*' 


-% 


^ 


l6«     "       LEZTEA'S  FttOM  UICI/ LAr/r,(7D£S.  [X.  «    ^ 

.  laroutsidera  of  the  human  family ;  alleging  that  ai  succes- 
sive stocks  l>ubbled  up  from  the  cei^tral- birthplace  f)f  man--  , 
kind  in  Asia,  the  earlier  and  inferio^  races  were  graduaUy 
driven  outwards  in  concentric  circles,  like  the  rings  pro- 
duced by  the  throwing  of  a  sfone  into  a  pond  ;  and  that 
consequently,  those  who  dwell  in  the  uttermost  ends  of  the 
earth  are, />j*/arti7,  first  cousins.         A  '"  -      ^  \ 

This  relationship  with  the  Polynesia^  Niggers,  the^ 
native  genealogists  would  probably  scbut  with  indignatibn,  \ 
being  perfectly  persuaded  6f  the  extreme  gentility  of  their 
descent.     Their* only  knowledge  of  /the  patriarch  Noah  is      "^ 
as  a  personage  who  derives  his  principal  claim  to  notoriety 
,  from  having  been  ih^  first  Lapp.     Their  acquaintance  with 
any  sacred  history— nay,  with  Christianity  at  dU— is  very      " 
limited.     It  was  not  until  after  the  thirteenth  centurv  that     • 
an  attempt  was   made  ^o   convert   them ;    and   although 
Charles   the   fourth  and   Gustavus   ordered   portions  of 
Scripture  to  be  translated  in  Lappish,  to  this  very  day  a     "^ 
great  proportion  of  the  race  are  pa^ns ;   and  even  the 
most  illuminated  amongst  them  remain  slaves  to  the  gross-, 
est  superstition.    When  a  cojiple  is  to  be  married,  if  a 
priest  happens  to  be  in  the  Way,  they  will  send,  for  him 
perhaps  Out  of  complaisance  j  buj  otherwise,  the  young 
lady's  papa  merely  strikes  aflipt  and  steel  together,  Xnd 
the  ceremony  is  not  less  irre^^ocably  completed.     When 
they  die,  a  hatchet  and  ^  flint  and  steel  are  invariably 
buried  with  the  defunct,  in  ca^e  he  should  find  himself 
chilly  on  his  long  journey— an  unnecessary  precaution, 
many  of  the  orthodox  would  consider,  or^/tlw;  part  of  suclj 
lax  religionists.     When  they  go  boar-hunting— the  most- 
important  bifs^ess  in  their  lives-4-it  is  a  sorcerer,  with  no 
other  defente  tb^  his  incantations,  who'  marches  at  the 
head  of  the  procession.     In  the  i^itemal  arrangements  of 
their  tents,  it  is  not  a, room  to  themselves,  but  a  door  to 
themselves,  that  they  assign  to  their  womankind  ;  for  woe 


•s  " 


^ 


V 


Kf-'-^A 


^..w.^-- 


' 


X.] 


( 


HABITS  OF  THE  LAPS. 


169 


betide  tbe  hunter  if  a  woman  has  crossed  the  threshold  ' 
^ver  whicli^e  salUcsjo  the  chase  ;  and  for  three  days  after 
the  ^laughter  of  his  prey  he  must  liVe  apart  from  the  female 
portion  of  his  family  jn  order  to  appease- the' evil  deity 
whose  familiar  he  is  supposed  to  have  destroyed.  It  would 
be  endless  (p  recount  the  innuhierable  occasions  •<  upon 
which  'the '  anciervt  rites  of^  Jumala  ar^  still  interpolated 
among  the  Christiaiv- observandes  they  profess,  to  have 
adopted.  ^  '    .^ 

Their  manner' of  life  lliiadrscarcely  any  opportunities 
of  observing,  Our  Consul  kindly  undertook  to  take  us  to 
one  of  their  encampments  ;  but  they  flit  §0  often  from  place 
to-place,  it  is  very  "difficult  to  light  upon  them.  Here  and 
tbere,^§  We ^erwised  about  among  the  fiords,  blue  wreaths 
of  smoke  rising' from  some  little  green  nook  among  the 
rocks  would  betray  their  temporary  place  oi  abodp  ;  Ijut  I 
never  got  a  near  view  of  a  regular  settlement. 

In  the  summer-time  they  live  in  canvas  rehts :  during 
winter,-wtjen  the  snow  is  on  the  ground^  the  forest  Lapps 
build  huts  in  the  branches  of  trees,  and  so  roo?t  like  bird* 

^e  principal  tent  is  of  an  hexagonal  form,  with  a  fire  in 
the-  centre,  whose  smjail^rlses  through  a  hole  in  the  roof. 
The  gentlemeh  and  "Vdies  occupy  different  sides  of  tbg^' 
same  apartitient ;  bHJfe^^  long  pole  laid  along  the  groui^ 
midway  between  them  symbolizes  an  ideal  partition,  which  * 

^  I  dare  say  4afi|i  the  end  as  effectual  a  defence  as  lath  and 
plaster  proves  in^fliore  civilized,  countries.  At  all  events, 
the  la<^ies  havie  ^  doorway  quite  to  themselves,  wbjeh, 
doubtless,  they  tfensider  a  far  greate^  privilege  than  the  se- 

,  i^i^ion  ^ a  separate  boudoin     Hunting  arid  fishing  are  the* 
prilfcipal  employments  of  the  Lapp  tribes  ;  apd  to  slay  a  bear 
is  the  most  hbnorable  exploit  a  Lapp  hero  can  achieve.  Jhe 
flesh  of  the  Slaughtered  beast  b^omes  the  property— not ' 
of  the  man  w^o  killed  htm,  but  6f  him  who  discovered  his      » 
trail,  and  the  skin  ^  hung  up  on  a  pole,  for  the  wives  of  all 


•/-- 


'«'■*!(„„: 


.^. 


/ 


'M-^ 


'  w^'- 


'/'■ 


[ 


» r«  ISTTMMS  FKOM  M/GN  LA  TtTVOMS.  [X 

who  todk  part  In  the  expedition  to  thoot  at  with  their  ey«i 
tninUnged.  Fortunate  i»  the  whoM  arrow  pitrcct  the 
trof»»iy,~not  only  dors  it  become  her  pri«c,  but,  in  the  eyes 
ol-tliw^holesetilcment,  licr  husband  is  looked  upon  Ihenah 
forth  aa  the  mmt  f^^tunatc  of  men.  As  tdng  aa  the  chase 
la  foirm  on,  ttie  wcAnen  are  not  allowed  to  atir  abroad ;  but 
as  soon  as  the  party  have  safely  brought  home  their  booty, 
the  witolc  female  {mpuLition  i»mic  faom  their  tents,  and 
having  deliberately  chewed  some  bark  oi  a  species  of  alder, 
they  spit  the  red  juice  into  their  husband's  faces,  typifying 
-  thereby  the  bear's  blood  Which  has  been  shed  in  the  hon 
orabic  encounter. 

Although  the  foreats,  the  rtvers,  and  the  ^ea  supply 
them  in  a  great  measure  with  their  foo<l,  it  is  upon  thentin- 
deer  that  th«  X^piander  is  dependent  for  every  other  com- 
fort In  life.    The  reindeer  is  his  estate,^s  horse,  his  cow, 
bis  companion,  and  fritfnd.     He  ha.H  twenty-two  different 
names  for  hini.     His  coat,  trousers,  and  shoes  arc  made  of 
reindeer's  skin„atitched  with  Ihread  manufactured  from  the 
nerves  and  sinews  of  the  reindeer.    Reindeer  milk  is  the 
most  important  item  In  his  diet.    Out  of  reindeer  horns  aie 
made  aimm/t  all  the  utensils  used  in  his  domestic  economy ; 
and  it  is  Olc  reindeer  that  carries  Tils  baggage,  and  dragi 
■  *l»  Blcdg^.     But  the  beauty  of  this  animal  is  by  no  means 
on  a,  par  with  his  various  moral  and  physical  endowments. 
His'antlers,  indeed,  arc  magnificent,  branching  back  to  the 
^  len||fth  of  three  or  four  feet:  but  his  botly^s  jxwr  and 
Mif' limbs  thick  and  ungainly ;  neither  Uhis  p^  quite  so 
rt^  as  is  generally  supposed.    The  LapHandera  count  dlr- 
t^cen  by  tht!  number  of  horizons  they  have  traversed ;  and 
\%%  reindeer  changes  the  horiion  three  times  during  the 
.Uwn^four  hours,  it  is  thougiit  a  good  days  Work.    More- 
gW,  so  Just  an  appreciation  has  the  creature  bf  what  la  due 
■f»  Jil»  own  ftteat  imiit,  that  if  his  owner  setlta  to  tax  him 
?k^^6n(f  htaatrfngth,  he  not  only  becomes  restive,  but  some 


\ 


,.T*T  ■ 


\  ■  "'.'^ 


^ 


i-*W  LOVMMAKIMS, 


«?• 


tlmen  RCtiiAlty  turnt  upon  the  inconsiderate  jehu  Who  hu 
ov«  driven  him.  When,  therefore,  a  Lapp.U  in  a  great 
fcwry,  instead  o(  tailing  t«  hiH  alcdge,  he  puts  on  a  pair  of 
•katei  exactly  twice  as  long  as  his  own  body,  and  so  fUet 
on  the  Wrings  of  the  wind. 

Every  Laplander,  however  poor,  has  his  doien  or  two 
doaen  deer;  and  the  flocks  of  a  Lapp  Croesus  amount 
aometfines  to  two  thousand  head.  As  soon  as  a  young 
lady  it  bom-Hifter  having  be^n  duly  rolled  the  snow-^ 
•he  iH  dowcrw*  by  her  father  with  a  certain  NRber  of  deer, 
which  arc  immediately  branded  with  her  initials,  and  thence- 
forth kept  apart  as  her  eAfMcial  property.  In,  proportbn 
as  they  increase  and  multiply  does  her  chance  improve  of 
making  a  good  ^tch.  Lapp  courtships  are  conducted 
ipretty  much  in  t^e  same  fashion  as  in  other  paru  of  thi 
world.  The  aap^t,  as  soon  as  he  dlscovcm  that  hchns 
loat  bis  heart,  gofs  off  in  search  of  a  friend  ami  a  bottle  of 
brandy.  The  fr|end  enters  4hc  tent,  and  opens  simulu- 
neouaiy— tbe  ibrandy— and  his  iNisiness ;  while  the  lover 
remains  outside,  engaged  in  hewing  wciod,  or  some  other 
menial  employmcm.  If,  after  the  brandy  and  the  propoil^ 
have  iMen  duly  diicttssed,  the  eloquence  of  his  friend  ^/ 
vails,  he  is  himself  called  into  the  conclave,  and  the/ 
young  people  are  allowed  lo  rub  noses.  The  bride  theif 
accepts  from  her  suitor  a  present  of  a  reindeer's  tongue, 
and  the  espousalii  are  considered  concluded.  The  marriage 
does  not  take  plaice  for  two  or  three  ye^rs  afterwards ;  and 
during  the  interval  the  intended  is  obliged  to  labor  in  the 
•ervice  of  his  father-in-law,  as  diligently  as  Jacob  served 
Ltban  for  the  sake  of  his  long  loved  Rachel. 

I  cannot  better  coilf  lude  this  summary  of  what  I  have 
been  able  to  learn  abouMhe  honest  Lappa,  than  by  sending 
|ou  the  tourist's  stock  spedasen  of  a  Lapp  love-ditty. 
The  author  is  supposed  to  be  haatening  in  his  sledge  to- 
trards  the  home  of  his  adored  one  .* — 


m 


»;«  IMTTMJtS  fHOM  MiOM  lAytTUDMS.  [X. 

"UMtwi,   XmImmui  njr  Uul*  wlwdiir  I  In^ki'tiM  «^,  Mi 
*>— ^'*'  "*  <^  mmliM.    Hwtft  u«  wt,  Md  li|^  o(  foot,  Md  mm 

^•t  iImII  havi  cooM  to  wMlktr  ««  an  •ptodlng.  Tkan  -^iW  I  btlMM 
«qr  l«ir  oiM  pacing.  KuImmu, my  nindMr,  ledi  fsitiii  iMk  wmMl I 
n— .  .w>^  -^  ^,  ^^  intwhiri    UlAiiu  f  " 


As  soon  at  «9  KmI  tiioroughly  looked  over  the  Lapp 
Itdy  and  her  conpaniont,  a  process  to  which  they  sttball^ 
ted  with  the  greatest  complacency,  we  proceeded  to  inject 
the  other  lions  ol  the  town  ;  the  church,  the  lasar^houae,— 
principally  occupied  by  Lapps,— the  stock  fish  estabUsh> 
ment»  and  the  hotel.  But  a  very  few  hours  were  sufficient 
to  exhaust  the  pleasures  of  Hammerfest ;  so  having  bought 
an  extra  suit  of  Jerseys  for  my  people,  and  laid  in  a  supply 
of  other  necessaries,  likely  to  be  useful  in  our  cruise  to 
Spitsbergen,  wc  exchanged  dinners  with  the  Consul,  s 
transaction  by  which,  I  inx^  he  got  the  worst  of  the  bar- 
gain, and  then  got  under  way  for  this  place,— Alten. 

The  very  day  we  left  H  tmmerfest  our  hopes  of  being 
able  to  get  to  Spitsbergen  at  all— received  a  tremendous 
shock.    We  had  just  sat  down  lo  dinner,  and  I  was  help- 
ing the  Consul  to  fish,  when  in  comes  V^lson,  his  face, 
as  usual,  upside  down,  and  hines,  something  into  the  Doc- 
tor's ear.    Ever  since  the  famous  dial<^e  which  had  taken 
place  between  them  on  the  subject  of  sea-sickness,  Wilson 
had  got  to  look  upon  FIta  as  in  some  sort  his  legitimate 
prey ;  and  whenever  the  burden  of  his  own  misgivings  be- 
came greater  than  he  could  bear,  it  was  to  the  Doctor  that 
he  unbosomed  h^m^f.    On  this  occasion,  I  guessed,  by 
the  look  of  glooitty  triumph  in  his  eyes,  that  some  great 
calamity  had  occurred,  and  it  turned  out  that  the  followii^j 
was   the  agreeable  announcement  he  had  been  in  such 
haste  to  malcc  :  "  Do  you  know,  Sir  r'— This  was  always 
the  preface  to  tidings  unusually  doleful.    "No— what? ** 
said  the  Doctor,  breathless.    *'Oh  michlt^  Sir ;  only  two 
sloops  have  just  arrived.  Sir,  from  Spiubetgeo,  Sir^-wlMra 


-m' 


X.} 


rUM  SMA'M0MSMJIf4Jf< 


«W 


1 


they  couldn't  get,  Sir  ^-tuch  a  prcciout  lot  of  kw— two 
hundred  luiles  from  (he  land— and,  oh,  $lr— they've  come 
back  with  all  thetr  bows  atove  in  I "  Now,  immeciately  on 
arriving  at  Hammerfeat,  my  Artt  care  had  been  to  inquire 
kow  the  ice  was  lying  this  year  to  the  northward,  and  I  had 
certainly  been  told  that  the  season  Was  a  very  bad  one, 
and  that  the  most  of  the  sloops  that  go  every  summer  to 
kill  aea-horaes  (t.  t.,  watrua)  at^SpiUbergen,  beifig  unablf 
to  reach  the  land,  had  returned  empty-handed  ;  bijit  as  three 
weeks  of  better  weather  had  iittervened  since  thejr  diacom* 
flture«  I  had  quite  reassured  myself  with  the  ho|^  that  in 
the  mean  time  the  advance  of  the  season  might  havci 
opened  for  us  i-pasaig«  to  the  island.  j 

This  news  of  Wilson's  quite  threw  me  on  jmy  back 
again.  The  only  consolatbn  was,  that  probably  it  was  not 
true  ]  so  immediately  after  dinner  we  boarded  the  honest 
Sea-horaeman  who  was  reported  to  have  brought  the  dis- 
mal intelligence.  He  turned  out  to  :be  a  very  cheery  in- 
telligent fellow  of  about  (tve-and-thirty,  aix  feet  high,  with 
adaahing  "devil-may-care"  manner  that  completely  im- 
poaed  vnffw  me.  Charts  were  got  out,  and  the  whole  state 
of  die  case  laid  before  me  in  the  clearest  manner.  Noth- 
infg  could  be  more  unpromiaing.  The  sloop  had  quitted 
the  ioe  but  eight-and-forty  hours  before  making  the  Nor- 
way ooMt;  she  had  not  been  able  ev^n  to  reach  Bear 
laland.  Two  hundred  miles  of  ice  lay  of!  the  southern 
Mid  western  coast  of  Spittbergen--(the  eastern  side  is  al- 
ways blocked  up  with  ice) — and  then  bent  round  in  a  con- 
dlKaotta  aemicircle  towards  Jan  Mayen.  That  they  had  not 
^vd  for  munt  of  exertion--the  bows  of  his  ships  suffi- 
.o^entiy  testified.  As  to  Mr  getting  there  it  was  out  (tf  the 
Question.  So  spake  the  Sea-horseman.  On  returning  on 
board  the  "  /9mm«  "  I  gave  myself  up  to  the  most  gloomy 
reflections.  This,  then,  was  to  be  the  result  of  all  my 
pnip»ntkm%  and  bng-meditated  schemes.    What  likell- 


-  * 


»  74  LMTTBMS  ntOAf  HtGH  LA  TfTUaMS. 


n. 


; 


r"**-. 


hood  wu  there  of  suGceas,  *flM' ao  ttafavoraUe  a  vwdiet  f 
4»»/  dixit,  tfmmt  miHmms,    It  b  true  the  hon»««riaea 
have  hitherto  been  connklored  a  mythic  oovpa,  but  ay 
friend  was  too  aubsUntial  looking  for  me  to  doobt  hb  ea 
irtence;  and  utU^  T  w*a  »  ride  off  on  the  ptoverbiai 
crwhUity  of  thcT  other  br«ich  of  that  ttaphibioua  profea- 
aion,  I  had  no  reason  to  qiWwtlofDius  veradty.    Neverthe- 
leas,  I  felt  it  woultl  not  become  a  gentleman  to  turn  back 
at  the  firat  bluah  of  dikeouragcment    If  it  were  poaaibte 
to  reach  Spitsbergen,  I  waa  detenained  to  doaa   I  raf|eet- 
ed  that  every  day  that  paaaed  was  tdling  in  our  &i«or.    It 
waa  not  yet  the  end  of  |uly ;  even  in  theae  latitudes  wintef 
does  not  commence  much  before  September,  and  in  the 
mean  tin;^  the  tail  of  the  Gulf  Stream  would  still  be  wea^ 
ingachanncl  in  the  ice  towards  the  pole;«Ok  however 
uppromisfng  might  be  the  prospect,  I  determined;  at  all 
evews,  that  j»e  should  go  and  see  for  ourselxTs  how  matters 
really  stood. 

But  I  mtut  explain  to  y«i  why  I  so  counted  upon  the 
assistance  of  the  Gulf  Stream  to  help  us  throi«h. 

The  entire  configuration  of  the  Arctic  ice  bdetermine^ 
by  the  action  of   that  mysterious  current  on  its  edges. 
Several  theories  have  been  advanced  to  account  for  its  in- 
fluence in  so  remote  a  region.    I  give  you  one  which  ap- 
pears to  me  reasonable.    It  ta  supposed,  that  in  obedi- 
ence to  that  great  law  of  Nature  which  seeks  to  establisfa 
equilibrium  in  the  temperature  of  fluids,— a  vast  body  of 
fclid  water  is  continually  mounting  from  the  Antarctic,  to 
displace  and  regenerate  the  over-heated  oceans  of  the  i»r^ 
rid  SOTO.    Bounding  up  against  the  west  side  al  South 
America,  the  ascending  stream  skirts  the  coasts  of  ChUi 
and  Peru,  and  is  then  deflected  in  a  we^eriy  diiectkm 
•cross  the  Pac^  Ocean,  wl^re  itlahcs  tlK  »— nr  of  the 
Equatorial  Current.     Having  completely  enctrcled  Aiatra. 
Ba,  it  enters  the  Indian  Sea,  aweeps  up  nound  the  Cape  oi 


,  '  -  *fc^,^  'tw   . 


X.] 


THE  GULF  stream. 


«7S 


1 


• 


Good  H<^,  md,  crMsipg  the  Atlantic,  twuis  into  tht 
Golf  of  Mei^ico.  Here  its  flagging  energiM  are  suddenly 
accelerated  in  consequence  of  the  narrow  limits  within 
which  it  finds  itself  compressed.  So  marvellous  does  the 
velocity  of  the  current  now  become,  so  compllstc  its  isola- 
tiwi  from  the  deep  sea  bed  it  traverses,  that  by  the  time  it 
iaaues  again  into  the  Atlantic,  its  hitherto  difltused  and 
loitering  waters  are  suddenly  roncentrated  Into  what  Lieu- 
tenant Maury  has  happily  called — "a river  in  the  ocean," 
swifter  and  of  greater  volume  than  either  the  Mississippi 
or  the  Anuuon.  Surging  forth  between  the  interstices  of 
the  Bahamas,  that  stretch  like  a  weir  across  its  nsouth,  it 
cleaveH  asunder  the  At|antic.  ^  distinct  is  its  individu- 
ality, that  one  side  of.  a  vessel  will  be  scoured  by  its  warm 
indigiiMxilored  water,  while  the  other  is  floating  in  the  pale, 
stagnant,  weed-encumbered  brine  of  the  Mar  dc  Sargasso 
(rf  the  Spaniards.  It  is  not  only  by  color,  by  its  tempera- 
ture, by  its  motion,  that  this  "  f{»^  'Uji«im«i»  "  is  distingtitsh- 
ed ;  its  very  surface  is  arched  upwards  some  way  above 
the  ordinary  sea-level  toward  the  centre,  by  the  lateral 
pressure  of  the  elastic  liquid  banks  between  which  it  flows. 
Impregnated  with  the  warmth  of  tropic  climes,  the  Gulf 
Stream — as  it  has  now  come  to  be  called, — then  pours  its 
genial  floods  across  the  North  Atlantic,  laving  the  western 
coasts  of  Britain,  Ireland,  and  Norway,  and  investing  each 
shore  it  strikes  upon,  with  a^limate  far  milder  than  that 
enjoyed  by  other  lands  situated  in  the  same  latitudes.  Ar- 
rived abreast  of  the  North  Cape,  the  impetus  of  the  cur- 
rent is  in  a  great  measure  exhausted. 

From  causes  similar  (though  of  less  efficacy,  In  conw-!. 
quence  of  the  smaller  area  occupied  by  watei^-  to  those 
whidi  originally  gave  birth  to  the  ascending  energy  of  the 
Antarctic -waters,  b- gelid  ««trretK  i»  also  generated,  an  4lie 
Arctic  Ocean,  which,  descending  in  a  south-westeriy  direc- 
timi,  encounter!  the  alrdtdy  faltering  Gulf  Stream  in  the. 


X- 


<       If 


«7« 


LMTTMMS  nfOJftjfiOM  LATTTUDES. 


Pt 


•p«ce  between  Spitzberfen  audi  N(>va  Zembla.  A  conteM 
far  the  mastery  ensues,  which  jtsiventually  terminated  by 
a  compromise.  The  warmer  Stp6f m,  no  lonfer  quite  able 
to  hold  its  own,  splits  into  two  Mmi^kies,  the  one  squeezing 
itself  round  the  North  Cape,  asjlEar  a«  that  Varangar  Fiord 
which  Russia  b  supposed  so  much  to  imt^  while  the  oth- 
er is  pushed  up  in  a  more  northerly  dire(^n  along  ^ 
west  coast  of  Spitsbefgen.  But  although  it  has  power  to 
•plit  up  the  Gulf  Stream  for  a  certain  distance,  the  Arctic 
current  is  ultimately  unable  to  cut  across  it,  and  the  result 
is  an  accumulation  of  ice  to  the  south  of  Spitsbergen  in 
the  angle  formed  by  the  bifurcation,  as  Mr.  Gf^te  would 
call  it,  of  the  wartner  current. 

It  is  quite  possible,  therefore,  that  the  north-West  ex- 
extremity  of  Spitsbergen  may  be  comparatively  clear, 
while  the  whole  of  its  southern  coasts  are  envek^ie^n 
belts  of  ice  of  enormous  extent.  It  was  on  thu  con^ 
gency  that  we  built  our  hopes,  and  determined  to  prose- 
cute our  voyage,  in  spite  of  the  discouraging  report  of  the 
Norse  skipper. 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  evenii^  we  got  under  way 
from  Hammerfest ;  unfortunately  the  wind  almost  imm^ 
ately  after  fell  dead  calm,  and  during  the  whole  night  we 
lay  '•  Uke  a  painted  ship  upon  a  painted  ocein."  At  six 
o'clock  a  little  breexe  sprung  up,  and  when  we  came  on 
^eck  at  breakfast  time,  the  schooner  was  skimming  at  the 
rate  of  five  knots  an  hour  over  the  level  lanes  of  water, 
which  lie  between  the  silver-grey  ridges  of  giieiss  and  mica 
slate  that  hem  in  the  Nordland  shore.  The  distance  from 
Hammerfest  to  Alten  is  about  forty  milo,  along  a  zigzag 
chaip  of  fiords.*  It  was  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  we 
had  already  sailed  two-and- thirty  mUes,  when  it  again  fell 
a^Mt  calm.  Impatient  at  the  unexpected  delay,  and 
ViaBpted  by  die  beautjr  of  ^  evening,— which  was  uideed 
most  lovely,  the  moon  han^  on  one  side  right  opposite 


N 


\  :::\c;-t: 


•i 


■-^T- 


X.] 


A  SCHOOL  OF  PERIPATETIC  FISHES. 


»77 


V 


to  the  sun  on  the  other,  as  in  the  picture  of  Joshua's  mira- ' 
de, — Sigurdr,  in  an  evil  hour,  proposed  that  we  should  take 
a  row  in  the  dingy,  until  the  midnight  breeze  should  spring 
up,  and  bring  the  schooner  along  with  it  Away  we  went 
umI  so  occupied  did  we  b^conke,  with  admiring  the  rocky 
precipices  beneath  which  we  were  gliding,  that  it  was  not 
--until  the  white  sails  of  the  motionless  schooner  had  dwin- 
dled to  a  speck,  that  we  became  aware  of  the  distance  we 
liad  come. 

Our  attention  had  been  further  diverted  by  the  specta- 
cle of  a  tribe  of  fishes,  whose  habit  it  appeared  to.be — in- 
stead of  swimming  like  Christian  fishes  in  a  horizontal 
position  beneath  the  water — to  walk  upon  their  hind-legs 
along  its  surface.  Perceiving  a  little  boat  floating  on  the 
Idch  not  far  from  the  spot  where  we  had  observed  this 
phenomenon,  we  pulled  towards  it,  and  ascertained  that 
the  Lapp  officer  in  charge  was  actually  intent  on  stalking 
the  peripatetic  school — to  use  a  technical  expression— 
whose  evolutions  had  so  much  astonished  usi  The  great 
object  of  the  sportsmah  is  to  judge  by  their  last  appear- 
ance what  part  of  thewater  the  fish  are  likely  to  select  for 
the  scene  erf  their  next  promeqade.  Directly  he  has  deter- 
mined this  in  his  own  mind,  he  rows  noiselessly  to  the- 
spot,  and,  as  soon  as  they  show  themselves,  hooks  them 
with  a  landing-net  into  his  boat 

By  this  time  it  had  become  a  doubtful  point  whether  it 
would  not  be  as  little  trouble  to  row  on  to  Alten  as  to  re- 
turn to  the  schooner,  so  we  determined  to  go  *on.  Unfor- 
tunately we  turned  down  a  wrong  fiord,  and  after  a  long 
pull,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  rooming  had  the  satisfaction 
of  finding  ourselves  in  %  cui-dc-sae.  To  add  to  our  discom- 
fort, clouds  of  mosquitbes  with  the  bodies  of  behemotl^ 
and  Uie  stings  of  dragoni^  had  collected  from  all  quarters 
of  the  heavens*  to  make  a  prey  of  us.  In  vain  we  strug- 
gled— strove  to  knock  thepn  down  with  the  oars, — plunged 


^- 


,-;~i- 


'%-^ 


178 


USrTEJtS  FROM  HIGH  LATiTVOBS. 


pc. 


our  heads  under  the  water,— smacked  our  faces  with  frantic 
violence ;  on  they  came  in  myriads,  until  I  thought  our 
'bleaching  bones  would  alone  remain  to  indicate  our  fate- 
At  last  Sigurdr  espied  a  log  hut  on  the  shore,  where  we 
might  at  least  find  some  one  to  put  us  into  the  right  road 
again  ;  but  on  looking  in  at  the  open  door,  we  only  saw  a 
Lapland  gentleman  fast  asleep.    Awaking  at  our  approach, 
he  started  to  his  feet,  and  though  nothing  could  be  more 
gracefully  conciliatory  than  the  bow  with  which  I  opened 
the  conversation,  I  regret  to  say  that  after  staring  wildly 
round  for  a  few  minutes,  «he  aboriginal  bolted  straight 
away  in  the  most  unpolite  manner  and  left  us  to  bur  fate. 
There  W.-IS  nothing  for  it  but  patiently  to  turn  back,  and 
try  some  other  opening.     This  time  we  were  more  success- 
ful, and  about  three  o'clock,  a.  m.,  had  the  satisfaction  of 
landing  at  one  of  the  wharves  attached  to  the  copper  mihes 
of  Kaafiord.     We  came  upon  a  lovely  scene.  ^Itwas-as 
light  and  warm  as  a  summer's  noon  in  England ;  upon  a 
broad  plateau,  carved  by  nature  out  of  the„side  of  the  grey 
limestone,  stood  a  bright  shining  house  in  the  middle  of  a 
plot  of  rich  'English-looking  gardeh.     On  one  side  lay  the 
narrow  fiord,  on  eyery  other  rose  an  amphitheatre  of  fir- 
clad  mountains.    The  door  of  the  house  was  open,  so  were 
many  of  tfie  windows— even  those  on  the  ground-floor,  and 
from  the  road  where  we  stood  we  could  see  the  books  on 
the  library  shelves.     A  swing  and  some  gymnastic  appli- 
ances on  the  lawn  told  us  that  there  were  children.    Alto- 
gether, I  thought  I  had  never  seen  such  a  charming  pic- 
ture of  silent  comfort  and  security.    Perhaps  the  barren 
prospects  we  had  been  accustomed  to  made  the  little  oasis 
before  us  look  more  cheerful  than  we  might  otherwise  have 
thought  it 

The  question  now  arose,  what  was  to  be  done  ?  My 
principal  reason  for  coming  to  Alten  was  to  buy  some  salt 
provisions  and  Lapland  dresses ;  but  dolls  and  junk  were  - 


^ 


/■ 


t^.;. 


X.] 


HOSPJTJUJTY. 


»79 


'i 


scarcely  a  sufficient  pretext  for  knocking  up  a  quiet  family 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning;.  It  is  true,  I  happened  to 
have  a  letter  for  Mr.  T— — ,  written  by  a  mutual  friend, 
who  had  expressly  told  me  that— arrive  when  I  might  at 
Alten, — the  more  unc!^emonioust)r  I  walked  in  and  tobk 
possession  of  the  first  unopcupied  bed  I  stumbled  on,  the 
better  Mr.  T- —  would  be  pleased  ;  but  British  punctilio 
would  not  allow  me  to  act  qp  the  recommendation,  though 
we  were  sorely  tried.  In  the  meantime  the  mosquitoes 
had  become  more  intolerable  than  ever.  At  last,  half  mad 
with  irritation,  I  set  off  straight  up  the  side  of  the  nearest 
mountain,  in  hopes  of  attaining  a  zone  too  high  for  them 
to  inhabit ;  and,  poising  myself  upon  its  topmost  pinnacle, 
I  drew  my  handkerchief  over  my  head— I  was  already 
<»rithout  coat  and  waistcoat — and  remained  the  rest  of  the 
morning  "  mopping  and  mowing  "  at  the  world  beneath  my 
feet. 

About  six  o'clock,  like  a  phantom  in  a  dream,  the  little 
schooner  came  pealing  round  the  misty  headland,  and 
anchored  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks  below.  Returning  imme- 
diately on  board,  we  bathed,  dressed,  and  found  repose 
from  all  our  troubles.    Not  long  after,  a  message  from  Mr. 

T ^  in  answer  to  a  card  I  had  sent  up  to  the  house  as 

soon  as  the  household  gaVe  signs  ot  being  astir — invited  us 
to  breakfast ;  and  about  half  past-nine  We  presented  our- 
selves at  his  hospitable  door.  The  reception  I  met  with 
was  exactly  what  the  gentleman  who  had  given  me-  the 
letter  of  introduction  had  led  tne  to  expect ;  and  so  eager 

did, Mr.  T seem  to  make  us  comfortable,  that  I  did 

not  dare  to  tell  him  how  we  had  been  prowling  about  his 
house  the  greater  part  of  the  previous  night,  lest  he  should 
knock  me  down  on*  the  spot  for  not  having  knocked  him 
up.  The  appearance  of  the  inside  of  the  house  quiteL,cor- 
responded  with  what  we  had  anticipated  from  the  soigni 
air  of  everything  about  its  exterior.    Books,  maps,  pictures,  . 


-*. 


m 


l8o  LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES.     .         [X. 

a  number  of  astronomical  instruments,  geological  speci- 
mens,  and  a  magnificent  assortment  of  fishing-rods,  be- 
trayed the  habit?  of  the  ^sractical,  well-educated,  business- 
lovmg  English  gentleman  who  inhabited  it;  and  m  he 
showed  me  tlie  various  articles  of  interest  in  his  study, 
most  heartily  did  I  congratulate  ulyself  on  the  lucky  chance 
which  had  brought  me  into  contact  with  so  desirable  an 
acquaintance. 

All  this  time  we  had  seen  nothing  of  the  lady  of  the 
house ;  and  I  was  justjieginning  to  speculate  as  to  whether 
that  crowning  ornament  could  be  wanting  to  this  pleasant 
home  when  the  door  at  the  further  end  of  the  room  sud- 
denly opened,  and  there  glided  out  into  the  sushine— 
"  The  White  Lady  of  Avenel."     A  fairer  apparition  I  have 
seldom  seen,— stately,  pale,  and  fragile  as  a  lily— blond 
hair,  that  rippled  round  a  forehead  of  ivory— a  cheek  of 
waxen  purity  on  which  tiie  fitful  color  went  and  came— ' 
no^with  the  flush  of  southern  blood,  or  flower-bloom  of 
English  beauty,— but  rather  ^tii  a  cool  radiance,  as  of 
"  northern  streamers  "  on  the  snows  of  her  native  hills,— 
eyes  of  a  dusky  blue,  and  l^ps  of  that  rare  tint  which  lines 
the  conch-shell.    Such  was  the  Chatelaine  of  Kaafiord,— 
as  perfect  a  type  of  Norse  beauty  as  ever  my  Saga  lore  had 
conjured  up  1    Frithiof's  Ingeborg  herself  seemed  to  stand 
before  me.    A  few  minutes  afterwards,  two  littie  fair-haired 
maidens,  like  twin  snow-drops,  stole  into  tiie  room ;  and  the 
sweet  home  picture  was  complete. 

The  rest  of  the  day  has  been  z,  continued  ffite.  In  vaia 
after  having  transacted  my  business,  I  pleaded  the  turning 
of  the  tide,  and  our  anxiety  to  getmray  to  sea';  nothing 
would  serve  our  kind  ehterteiher  but  that  we  should  stay 
to  dinner ;  and  his  was  one  of  those  strong  energetic  wills 
it  is  difficult  to  resist.  .   ,. 

In  the  afternoon,  tiie  Hammerfest  steamer  called  in 
from  tii^  southward,  and  by  her  came  two  fair  sistere  of  our 


— 4- 


A".  ■' 


I> 


*^''     ■ 


X.] 


THE^  M'A&LSTROM. 


i8i 


hostess  from  their  father's  home  in  one  of  the  Loffodens 
which  overloojc  the  famous  Maelstrom.  The  stories  about 
the  violence  df  the  whirlpool  Mr,  T-^ —  assures  me  are 
ridiculously  exaggerated.  On  ordinary  occasions  the  site 
o!  the  supposed  vortex  is  perfectly  unruffled,  and  it  is  only 
when  a  strong  weather  tide  is  running  that  any  unusual 
movements  in  the  water  can  be  observed ;  even  then  the 
disturbance  does  not  amount  to  much  more  than  a  rather 
troublesome  race.  "  Often  and  often,  when  she  was  a  girl, 
had  his  wife  and  her  sisters  sailed  over  its  fabulous  crater 
in  an  open  boat."  But  in  this  wild  romantic  countiy  with 
its  sparse  population,  rugged  mountains,  and  gloomy  fiords, 
very  ordinary  matters  become  invested  with  a  character  of 
awe  and  mystery  quite  foreign  to  the  atmosphere  of  our  own 
=^atter  of  fact  world  j  and  many  of  the  Norwegians  arenas 
prone  to  superstition  aS'  the  poor  little  Lapp  pagans  who 
dwell  among  them. 

No  later  than  a  few.  years  ago,  in  the  very  fiord  we  had 
passed  on  our  way  to  ^Iten,  when  an  unfortunate  boat  got 
cast  away  during  the  night  on  some  rocks  ?it  a  little  dis- 
tance from  the  shore,  the  inhabitants,  startled  by  the  cries, 
of  distress  Which  reached  them  in  the  morning  twilight 
hurried  doWn  Iflf^a  body  to  the  sea-side, — not  to  afford  as- 
sistance,— but  to  open  a  volley  of  musketry  on  the  drown- 
ing mariners  j- being  fully  persuaded  that  the  stranded  boatT 
with  its  torn  sails,  was  no  other  than  the  Kracken  or  Great 
Sea-Serpent  flapping  its  dusky  wings :  and  when,  at  last, 
one  of  the- crew  succeeded  in  swimming  ashore  in  spite  of 
waves  and  bullets,^he  whole  society  turned  and  fled  1 

And  now,  again  good-by.  We  are  just  going  up  to  dine 
with  Mr.  T-'-S^ ;  and  after  dinner,  or  at  least  as  soon  as 
the  tide  turns,  we  get  under  way-:-Northward  Ho !  (as  Mr. 
Kingsley  would  say)  in  right  good  earnest  this  time  1 


A 


V. 


-.¥ 


LETFER    Xr. 


WE    SAIL    FOR    BEAR     ISLAND,    AND    SPITZBERGEK-I^ERrB 
ISLAND  —  BARENTZ  —  SIR  ,  HUGH    WILLOUOHBY— ^«lA|C|[» 
ATTEMPT  TO    REACH    THE  NORTH   POLE— AGAIN  ^8|pi^ ' 
•THE     ICE-^ICI^BLINK— FIRST    SIGHT    OF     SPIXZBERGEN— 

Wilson— DECAY  of   puR   hopes-^-constant  struggle 

WITH  the  ice— we  RE'ACH  TH^  So^  N.  LAT.— A  FREER 
SEA — WE  LAND  IN  SPITZBERGEN— ENGLISH  BAY— <.ADY 
EDITH*i5  GLACtER— A  MIDNIGHT  PH01Swii^PH--NO  REIN- 
DEER TO  BE  SEEN^ET  EGO  IN  ScTIS— WINTER  IN 
SPltZBERGEN  —  PTARMIGAN  —  Ttffe  BEAR  SAGA  —  tHE 
"  FOAM  "  MONUMENT— SOUTHWARDS-^SIOHT  THE  GREEN- 
^N^'CE— A.  CALE  — WILSON    ON     THE     MAELSTROM— 

BREA|pM[;  AHEAD— ROOST— TAKING  A  SIGHT— THRON- 
DHJEM. 


\^ 


Throndhjem,  Aug.  22d,.  1856. 


We  have  won  our  laurels,  after  all  1     We  have  landed 

in  Spitzbergen- almost  at  its  most  northern    extremity  • 

and  the  litOe  ^^ Foam"  has  sailed  to  wi^^  636  miles  of 

-tl^e  Pole  ;  that  is^to  say,  within  100  miles  as  far  north  'a» 

arty  ship  has  ever  succeeded  in  getting.  "  ,  •• 

I  thiak  my  last  letter  left  us  enjoying  the  pleasant  hospf- 
tahties-qf^^^ord. 

'^^^  ®I^H&°^4!'1*  '^'  evening  in.  Norway  was 
certainly  h«mm^i>t^Sk<to  thfe  scenes  we  have  since 

it,  tl^  when  .dhiner  was  over, 


witnessed 


,    ,<V  !.. 


mi 


>••• 


s 

I 

I 

r 


> 


""*« 


/ 


XI.] 


^5/<ie  ISLAND. 


183 


wft  all  went  out  into  the  garden,' and  had  tea  in  the  open 
air ;  the  ^dbfs  without  cither  bonnets  or  shawls,  merely 
plucy^i^iyi^  branch  of  willow  to  brush  away  the  mos- 
the  evenipg  wore  away  in  alterivite  inter- 
^ng.  At  midntght,  seawards  again  began 
fthe  tide,  ah4  we  rose  to^o, — not  without  having 
rst  paid  a  visit  to  the  irpotn  where  the  littl^  idaughters  o£ 
•the  hoiise  lay  folded  in  M^ep.  Then  descending  to  the 
beach,  laden  with  flowers  and  Jcind  wishes  w^ved  to  us  by 
white  handkerchiefs  held  in  stiHwhite/  hands,  we  rowed 
on  board;  up  wentuhe  flapping  irajls,  and  dipping  her 
ensign  in  token  of  aidieu — the  schooh^j;  glided  swiftly  on 
between  the  walls  of  rock,  until  att  intervrejiiing  crag  shut 
out  frpm  dur  sight  the  friendly  group  that  had  come  forth 
to  bid  us  "  Good  speed."  In  another  twenty-four  hours 
we  had  tnreaded  our  way  back  through  the  intricate  fiords  ; 
and  leaving  Hammerfest  three  or  four  miles  on  the  star- 
board hand,  on  the  evening  of  jthe  2Sth  of  July,  we  passed 
out  between  the  islands  of  Soroe  and  Bolsvoe  into  the 
open  sea. 

My  intentiori  was  to  go  first  to  Bear  Island,  and 
ascertain  for  myself  in  what  direction  the  Ide  was  lying  to 
the  southward  of  Spitzbergen. 

Bear — or  Cherie  Island,  is  a  diamond-shaped  island, 
about  ten  miles  long,  t  omposed  of  secondary  rocks — prin- 
cipally sandstone  and  limestone — lying  about  280  miles 
due^nHrth  of  the  North  Gape.  It  was  originally  discovered 
by  Barentz,  the  9th  oif  Juoe,  1596,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
last  and  fatal  voyage.  Already  had  he  ^dhimanded  two 
expeditions  sent  forth  by  the  United  Provinces  to  discovef* 
a  north-east  passage  to  that  dream-land — Cathay ;  and 
each  time,  after  penetrating  to  the  eastward  of  Nova 
Zembla,  he  had  been  foiled  by  the  impenetrable  line  of  ice. 
On  this  occasion  he  adopted  the  bolder  and  more  northerly 
courses  which  brought  him'  to   Bear   Island.       Thence, 


.    r^ 


p** 


y- 


J§.-A 


m^ 


^ 


^.-  h 


^1'  ^^'■^.'  '1sfi''•J^■^•^ 


%JM 


VK 


■V   ^-'' 


-s-. 


'\ ' '» 


^ ^^  "•4  tEttRKS  FROM  HiGlf  LATITUDES.  [XI 

pluaging^ilito  ^  mists  of  the  frosen  tea,  he  ulUmately 

l^-^^'    *^ted  1^  western  mountains  of  SpiUtbergen.    Unable  to 

prooeed  fttitther  in  that  direction,  Bareilti  fetnu:^  his  st^ 

and  again  passing  in  sight  of  Be«r  Island,  imxeeded  in  a 

souHi-east  direction  to  Nova  Zembia,  where  his  ships  got 

ei^i^4ed  in  the  ice,  and  he  stibsMpiently  perished. 

"^\^  TWards  th^k^lose  of  the'^nxteenth  century,  in  qiite  of 

^iqieatM^iaflures,  one  endeavor  after  another  was  made  to 

penetrate  to  India  acnras  these  fatal  waters. 

The  first  English  vessel  that  sailed  on  the  disastrous 

qptest  was  the  "  B0ma  JSsfmmaa;*  in  the  last  year  of  King 

Edward  VI.    Her  commander  #u  Sir  Hugh  Willoughby, 

and  we  have  still  cttmt  a  copy  o^  the  instructions  drawn 

up  by  Sebastian  Cabot— the  Grand  Pilot  of  Enghmd,  for 

his-guidance.     Nothii^g  can  be  mor*  pious  than  the  spirit 

I  in  which  this  andejltt  document  is  conceived  ;  expressly 

[j  I   '  enjoining  that  monring  and  evening  prayers  should  be 

^  offered  on  board  elwjry  ship  attached  to  the  expedition, 

<f  ,  ■"**  that  neither  dicing,  carding,  tabling,  nor  other  devilish 

devices — we«e  to  be  permitted.     Here  and  there  were 

dauses  of  a  more  questionable  morality, — recoromendii^ 

that  natives  of  strange  lands  be  "enticed  on  board,  and 

,  ,      '  "■■^*  dnink  with  ydur  beer  and  wine ;  for  then  yott  shall 

know  the  secrets  of  their  hearts."     The  whole  concluding 

with  an  exhortation  to  all  on  b6an)  to  take  especial  heed 

to  the  devices  of  "  certain  creatures,  with  men's  headi,  and 

the  ta4}s^  fishes,  who  swim  with  bows  and  arrows  aboal  the 
fiprds  and' bays,  and  live  on  human  flesh." 

On  the  1 1  th  of  May  the  ill-starred  expedition  got  under 

way  from  Deptford,  and  saluting  the  king,  who  was  then 

lying  side  at  Greenwieh,  put  to  sea.      By  the  30th  of  July 

the  little  fleet-Hthree  vesseb  in  all--4iad  come  up  abreast 

<rf  the  Loffoden  islands,  but  a  gale  cmning  on,  the  "  Esftr- 

mm**  was  separat<^  from  the  jxmsorts.    Ward-huus—A 

little  harbor  to  the  cast  of  the'North  Cape— had  been 


/ 


'  -•     ""11^ 


XI.] 


AMCTiC  DtSCOVRRY. 


»«5 


i^qwinted  as  the  place  o£  rendeivous  in  case  of  lueh  an 
•vent,  but  unfofttfhktely,  Sir  Hugh  overshot  the  mark,  and 
watted  all  the  precious  autumn  time  in  blundertnji;  amid 
the  ice  to  the  eastward.  At  last,  winter  set  in,  and  they 
were  obl%ed  to  run  for  a  port  in  Lapland.  Here,  removed 
from  all  human  aid,  they  were  frozen  to  death.  A  year 
afterwards,  the  ill-fated  ships  were  discovered  by  some 
Russian  saildrs,  and  an  unfinished  journal  proved  that  Sir 
Huffa  and  many  of  |iis  c9mpanions  were  still  lUive  to 
Jalniary,  1554. 

The  next  voyage  of  discovery  in  a  north-east  direction 
wms  sent  out  by  Sir  Francis  Cherie,  alderman  of  Loncfon, 
in  1603.  After  proceeding  as  far  east  as  Ward-huus  and 
Kela,  the  "*  CMspud'*  pushed  north  into  the  ocean, 
and  on  the  t6th  of  August  fell  in  with  Bear  Island.  Un^ 
aware  of  its  previouf  discovery  by  Barents,  Stephen  Bennet 
—who  commanded  ^  expeditiQ|i-<«christened  the  island 
Cherie  Island,  in  honor  of  his  patron,  and  to  this  day  the 
two  names  are  used  almost  indiscriminately. 

In  1607,  Henry  Hudson  was  despatched  by  the  Mus- 
covy Company,  with  orders  to  sail,  if  possible  right  across 
the  pole.  Although  perpetually  baffled  by  the  ice,  Hudson 
at  bwtvicceeded  in  reaching  the  north-west  extremity  of 
Spitxbergen,  but  finding  his  further  progress  arrested  by 
an  impenetrable  barrier  of  fixed  ice,  he  was  forced  to  le- 
tnm.  A  few  years  later,  Jonas  Poole— having  been  sent 
in  the  same  direction,  instead  of  prosecuting  any  discover* 
ies,  wiMly  set  himself  to  killing  the  seahorses  that  Irequent 
the  Arctic  ice-fields,  and  in  lieu  of  tidings  of  new  lands- 
brought  back  a  valuable  cargo  of  walrus  tusks.  In  1615, 
Fortherby  started  with  the  intention  of  renewing  the  at- 
tempt to  Mil  across  the  north  pole,  but  after  encountering 
manydangen.J)e  also  was  forMd  to  retom.  It  was  during 
the  course  ^  his  homeward  voyi^  that  he  foil  in  with  the 
iiiaBi  of  Jan  Mayen.    Soon  afterwards,  4he  discovery  by 


.....i., 


»-■ 


iM 


LSTTEXS  f/tOM  tT/C/f  LATirUDES. 


TV 


i 


HodBon  and  Davis,  of  the  aeas  and  straits  to  which  they 
had  given  their  names,  diverted  the  attention  of  the  public 
from  all  thoughts  of  a  north.#M  passage,  and  the  Spiu- 
hergen  waters  were  only  frequented  by  ships  engaged  in 
the  fisheries.  The  gradual  disappearance  of  the  whale, 
and  the  discovery  of  more  profitable  fishing  stations  on  the 
west  coast  of  Greenland,  subsequently  abolished  the  sole 
attraction  for  human  being  which  thU  inhospttable  region 
ever  possessed,  and  of  late  years,  I  understand,  the  Spita 
bergen  seas  have  remained  as  lonely  and  unvisitcd  as  they 
were  before  the  first  adventurer  invaded  their  solitude. 

Twice  only,  since  the  time  of  Fotherby,  has  any  attempt 
been  made  to  reach  the  pole  on  a  north-east  course.    In 
1773,  Captain  Phipps,  afterwards  Lord  Mulgrave,  sailed 
in  the  "  Canast "  towards  Spitzbergen,  but  he  never  reach- 
ed a  higher  latitude  thafi  8i*.    It  was  in  this  expedition 
I  that  Nelson  made  his  first  voyage,  and  had  that  famous 
I  encounter  with   the  bear.    The  next  and  last  endeavor 
was  underuken  by  Parr)-,  in  1827.     Unable  to  get  his  ship 
^even  as  far  north  as  Phipps  had  gone,  he  determined  to 
leave  her  in  a  harbor  in  Spitzbergen.  and  push  across  die 
sea  in  boats  and  sledges.    TTie  uneven  nature  of  the  lar- 
face  over  which  they  had  to  travel,  caused  their  progress 
northward  to  be  very  slow,  and  very  laborious.    The  ice 
too,  beneath  their  feet,  was  not  itself  immovable,  and  at 
last-they  perceived  they  were  making  Oie  Und  of  progress 
a  criminal  makes  upon  the  treadmill,— the  floes  over  which 
they  were  journeying  drifting  to  tiie  aoutiiward  faster  than 
they  walked  north  ;  so  that  at  the  end  of  a  long  day's 
narch  (rf  ten  miles,  they  found  themselves  four  miles  fur- 
ther  from  tiieir  destination  Uian   at  its  commencement 
Disgusted  with  so  Irish  a  manouvre.  Parry  determin«l  to 
return,  though  not  until  he  had  almost  reached  tiie  Sjid 
parallel,  a  higher  latitude  than  any  to  which  man  is  known 
to  have  penetrtted.    Arttic  authorities  are  still  of  opiakm, 


"L 


% 


XL] 


AGAtN  AMO^ftST  THE  /CM. 


tft7 


that  Parry's  plan  for  reaching  the  north  pole  might  prove 
•wcccajrful,  if  the  aq>edition  were  to  set  out  earlier  in  the 
■eason,  ere  the  intervening  field  of  ice  is  cast^  adrift  by  the 
a{qMt>ach  of  summer. 

Our  own  run  to  Bear  Island  was  rtry  rapid.    On  get- 
ting  outside  the  island,  a  fair  fresh  wind  sprung  up,  and 
we  went  spinning  al9ng  for  two  nights  and  two  days  as 
^  merrily  as  possible,  tth<ler  a    double-reefed    mainsail  a|id 
.  ^j'*"''^''  ®"  *  **"*  "^"^  course.    On  the  third  d.iy  we  be- 
<an  lb  see  some  land  birds,  and  a  few  hours  afterwards, 
*li>^  *  the  loom  of  the  island  itself ;  but  it  had  already  begun  to 
get  fearfully  cold  and  our  tliermomcter,  which  1  consulted 
-     eireiy  two  hours,  plainly  indicated  that  we  were  approach- 
ing ice.    My  only  hope  was  that,  at  all  events,  the  southern ' 
extremity  of  the  island  might  be  disengaged  ;  for  I  was 
veiy  anxiotts  to  land,  in  order  to  examine  some  coal-beds 
which  are  said  to  exist  in  the  upper  strata  of  the  sandstone 
formation.    This  expecution  was  doomed  to  complete 
disappointment    Before  we  had  got  within  six  miles  of  the 
•how,  it  became  evident  that  the  report  of  the  Hammerfest 
Sea-horseman  was  too  trttt. 
\  Between  us  and  the  land  there  extended  an  impenetra- 

ble barrier  of  packed  ice,  running  due  east  and  west,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

Wiat  was  now  to  be  done  ?  If  a  continuous  field  of  ice 
lay  150  miles  off  the  southern  coast  of  Spitsbergen,  what 
would  be  the  chance  of  getting  to  the  land  by  going  further  * 
north?  Now  that  we  had  received  ocular  proof  of  the 
\-eradty  of  the  Hammerfest  skipper  in  this  first  particular, 
was  it  likely  that  we  shouM  have  the  luck  to  find  the  re- 
mainder of  his  story  untnae?  According  to  the  track  he 
had  jotted  down  for  me  on  the  chart,  the  ice  in  front 
stretched  right  away  west  in  an  unbroken  line,  to  the  wall 
^tt  lee  wUch  w«  had  seen  running  to  the  north,  from  the 
upper  end  of  Jan  Mayen.    Only  a  week  had.  elapsed  since 


<^    iN, 


.7      ■   -.  . 

\ 


*su 


'^M 


,    i^  ^-sni^k^d 


Ji^  tiishrAitfFUiS  1 


1  i- 


'%     .  1 


•^ 


188 


lETTEftS  FXOM  litCH  LArjTUDMS. 


[XI. 


I    i 


he  had  actually  ucertained  the  impracticability  of  reaching 
a  higher  latitude,— what  likelihood  could  there  be  of  a 
channel  having  been  opened  up  to  t6e  northward  during 
so  shon  an  interval  ?  Such  was  the  series  of  inaolubie 
problems  by  which  I  poKd  myself,  as  we  sto(|d  vainly 
smacking  our  lips  at  the  island,  which  lay  so  tantalizti^ 
beyond  our  reach. 

Still,  unpromising  itt  the  aspect  (rf  things  might  af^iear, 
It  would  not  do  to  throw  a  chance  away  ;  so  I  determined 
to  put  the  schooner  round  on  the  other  tack,  and  run  west- 
wards along  the  edge  of  the  ice,  until  we  found  ourselves 
again  in  the  Greenland  sea.  Bidding,  therefore,  a  last 
adieu  to  Mount  Misery,  as  its  Erst  discoverers  very  appro- 
priaEtely  christened  one  of  the  higher  hills  in  Bear  Island, 
we  suffered  it  to  melt  back  into  a  fog,— out  of  whidi,  in- 
deed,, no  part  of  the  land  had  ever  more  than  partially 
emerged, — and  with  no  very  sanguine  expectations  as  to 
the  result,  sailed  west  away  towards  Greenland.  During 
the  next  four-and-twenty  hours  we  ran  alm^  the  edge  <rf 
the  ice,  in  nearly  a  due  westerly  direction,  without  observ- 
ing the  slightest  indication  of  anything  approaching  to  an 
opening  towards  the  North.  It  was  weary  work,  scanning 
that  seemingly  interminable  barrier,  aiKl  listening  to  the 
melancholy  roar  oi  waters  on  its  Icy  shore. 

At  last,  after  having  come  about  140  miles  shice  leav- 
ing Bear  Island,— the  long,  white,  wave-lasted  line  sud- 
denly ran  down  into  a  low  point,  and  then  trended  back 
with  a  decided  inclinatton  to  the  North.  Here,  at  idl 
events,  was  an  improvement ;  insteadof  our  continuing  to 
steer  W.  by  S.,  or  at  most  W  .by  N.,  the  schooner  would  often 
lay  as  high  up  as  N.W.,  and  even  N.W.  by  N.  Evidently 
the  action  of  the  Gulf  Stream  was  beginning  to  tell,  and 
our  spirits  rose  in  proportion.*  In  a  few  more  hours,  how- 
ever, this  cheering  prospect  was  interrupted  by  a  fr«ah  line 
of  kre  being  reported,  not  only  ahead,  but  as  far  as  the  ey« 


.**•«?   \ 


i 


^ 


•V 


i 


i. 


-.^^■^ 


..'./ni'^^'' 


..^^' 


XI.] 


LAND,  /rO! 


191 


could  reach  on  the  port  bow ;  so  again  the  schooner's  head 
\     was  {Hit  to  the  westward,  and  the  old  story  recommenced. 

\  And  now  the  flank  of  the  second  barrier  was  turned,  and 
we  Were  able  to  edge  up  a  few  hoars  to  the  northward  ; 
but  only  to  be  again  confronted  by  another  line,  more 

^  interminable,  apparently,  than  the  last.  But  why  should  I 
wcKy  you  with  the  detail  of  our  vafjkous  manoeuvres  during, 
the  ensuing  days  ?  They  were  too  tedious  and  dishearten- 
ing at  the  time,  for  me  to  look  back  upon  Aem  with  any 
pieasare.  Suffice  it  to  say,  th^J^dint  of  sailing  north 
whettever  the  ice  woifld  permit  us,  ind  sailing  west  when  * 
we  could  not  sail  north,  we  found  ourselves  on  .title  sd  (tf  .; 

^  August,  in  the  latitude  of  the  scMithem  extremity  of  Spitz- 
beigen,  though  divided  frain  the  land  by  about  fifty  miles 
of  iQ[^<^  All  this  whil^^the  weather,  had  been  very  good, 

.J**^  «nd  coW  enough,  but  with  a  fine  stiff  breeze  that 
rattled  us  along  at  a  good  rate  whenever  we  did  get  a 
chance  of  making  an>  Northing.  But  lately  it  had  come 
on  to  blow  very  hard,  the  cold  became  quite  piercing,  and 
what  was  worse— in  every  direction  round  the  whole  circuit 
of  the  horizon,  except  along  its  8<>iithem  s^ment,— a 
blaze  of  iceblink  illuminated  the  sky.  A  more  discourag- 
ing spectacle  could  not  have  met  our  eyes.  The  iceblink 
b  a  luminous  appearance,  reflected  on  the  heavens  from 
the^dsof  ice  that  stUl  lie  sunk  beneath  the  horizon; 
It  was,-  therefore  on  this  occasion  an  unmistakable  indica- 
tion of  the  encumbered  state  of  the  sea  in  front  of  us. 
I  had  turned  in  for  a  few  iiours  of  rest,  and  release 

'  from  die  monotonous  sense  of  disappointment,  and  was  al- 
ready kMt  in  a  dream  of  deep  bewildering  bays  of  ice,  and 
gulfs  «diose  shifting  shores  offered  to  the  eye  every,  possi- 
ble combination  of  uncomfortable  scenery,  without  possibla 
iMtte,— wiwn  "a  voice  in  my  dreamii^  ear"  shouted 
*^Ltmi!'*  and  I  awoke  to  its  reality.  I  need  not  tdl  yoa 
b  what  double  quick  time  I  tuiobled  up  the  companion,  or 


Km 

■  '   /y\  \ 

\    1- 

\  ■ 


: 


H 


't*. 


it   ^ 


"A. 


'9»  z^rr^A-^  FROM  HIGH  la  TITUDES.  [XI. 

wiw  ''the^T''"T  '  ''"''^  "^  ^^^^  ^"^  ^''^^  J-ged-for 

v.ew.-the  only  s>ght-as  I  then  thought-we  were  ^ver 

desuned  to  enjoy  of  the  mountains  of  Spitzbergen  I  ' 

The  whole  heaven  was  overcast  with,  a  dark  mantle  of 

tempesjnous  clouds,  that  stretched  do«^  i„  Jmb^Hk^ 

points  towards  the  horizon,  leaving  a  clear  space^twee^ 

their  ^geand^the  sea,  Hluminated  by  the  siiter  br  ml 

cy  of  Ae  .cebhnk.     In  an  easterly  direction,  this  l>elt^f 

unclouded  atmosphere  was  etherealLd  to  an  indescrille 

^i:^7;rof"^r^^^^  ^aduanygrei^r: 

"«:  uingy  line  of  starboard  ice— a  foreit  «f  th;«  ri  ' 
^^  so  Wn,  »  p„e.  fta.  fc^  i.  ^  °^'  "^  '^^'^ 
kle  d,stactna«  of  ,heir  oa.U«,  o«  could  have  dwC 
Ihem  »  umubstanaai  «  ,b.  ^^  „,  fai,y-la«l  ^. 
l«"aMv«K>n  proved  o-Uy  ,«,  u,„,ie„,;l™.  ^ 
Wf  hour  ™a  a»d  cloud  iad  blott«l  i,  J|  „„,  ,J,,  J 
-*  W  of  ic  con-pelled  u,  .o  .un,  «„  balU 
very  land  we  were  striving  to  reach. 

tant'^m'.f  T  were  certainly  upwards  of  sixty  miles  dik- 

t^t^  the  land  when  the  Spitzbergen  hiUs  were  fiij 

OTsewcd^ibe  mtervemng  sMce  seemed  infinitely  less  •  biit 

•n  th^  high  latituaarthe^constantiyliabk  tfb; 

ceived  in  the  esUmate  it  forms  <J^Tan4    OfLlt 

some  change  suddenly  taking  place  in  the  state  of^e 

m«phere,  the  land  you  approach  will  appear  even  to 

adc:  and  on  one  occasion,  an  honest  skipper-one  of  the 

mc«t  valiant  and  enterprising  mariners  of  his- day-k 

^ly  turned  back,  because,  after  sailing  for  several'hot 

lock  beneath  the  sea  must  have  attracted  the  keel  Z  lis 
•hift  and  kept  her  stationary,  /  \ 

i^theioe^    On  referring  to  our  log,  I  ««,^othing^a^ 
repetition  of  the  same  monotonous  oblations. 


I'. 


xr.] 


ICE-BOUND. 


193 


"July  31st.— Wind  W.  by  S. — Courses  sundry  to  clear 
"  Ice  v( 

■1.   '. 


'  Ice  very  thick." 

ise   twenty-four  hours   picking  our  way  through 
Ice.i" 

"August  I  St.— Wind  W — courses  variable  — foggy— 
continually  among  ice  these  twenty-four  hours." 

And  in  Fitz's  diary,  the  discouraging  state  of  the 
weather  is  still  more  pithily  expressed  : — 

"  August  2d.— Head  wind — sailing  westward— large  hum- 
mocks of  ice  ahead,  and  on  port  bow,  /.  e.  to  the  westward 
— hope  we  may  be  able  to  push  through.  In  evening,  ice 
gets  thicker ;  we  still  hold  on — fog  comes  on — ice  getting 
thicker— wind  freshens — we  can  get  no  farther — ice  im- 
passable, no  room  to  tack—struck  the  ice  several  times- 
obliged  to  sail  S.  and  W. — things  look  very  shady." 

Sometimes  we  were  on  the  point  of  despairing  altogeth- 
er, then  a  plausible  opening  would  show  itself  as  if  leading 
towards  the  land,  and  we  would  be  tempted  to  run  down 
it  until  we  found  the  field  become  so  closefy  packed,  that 
It  was  with  great  difficult)'  we  could  get  the  vessel  round — 
and  only  then  at  the  expense  of  collisions,  which  made  the 
little  craft  shiver  from  stem  to  stern.  Then  a  fog  would 
come  on — so  thick,  you  could  almost  cut  it  like  a  cheese — 
and  thus  render  the  sailing  among  the  loose  ice  very  criti- 
cal indeed ;  then  it  would  fall  dead  calm,  and  leave  us, 
hours  together,  muffled  in  mist,  with  no  other  employment 
than  chess  or  hopscotch.  It  was  during  one  of  those  in- 
Vtgrvals  of  quiet  that  I  executed  the  annexed  work  of  artj 
which  is  intended  to  represent  Sigurdr^ih  the  act  of  medi4 
tating  a  complicated  gambit  for  the  Doctor's  benefit. 

About  this  period  Wilson  culminated.  Ever  since  leav- 
ing Bear  Island  he  had  been  kipping  a  carnival  of  grief  in| 
the  pantry,  until  the  cook  became  almost  half-witted  by 
reason  of  his  Jeremiads.    Yet  I  must  hot  give  you  the 

»3 


-At      ,SHfc*ft->  *it« 


»94         ,,     LET^TEKS  FROM  niGH  LATITUDES.  [XI. 

impression  that  the  poor  fellow  was  ti,e  least  wanting  in 
//«r^-far  from  it.  Surely  it  requires  the*ighest  order  of 
courage  to  anticipate  every  species  of  disaster  every  mo- 
ment of  the  day,  and  vet  to  meet  the  impending  fate  like 
a.  man— as  he  did.^as^it  his  fault  that  fate  was  not 
equally  ready  to  meet  him?  His  share  of  the  business 
was  always  done  :  he  was  ever  prepared  for  the  worst ;  but 
the  most  critical  circumstances  never  disturbed  the  gravity 


SiGURDR. 

of  his  carriage,  and  the  facf  of  our  being  destined  to  go  to 
the  bottom  before  tea-time  would  not  have  caused  him  to 
lay  out  the  dinner  table  a  whit  less  symmetrically.  Still,  I 
dwn,  the  style  of  his  service  was  slightly  depressing.  He 
laid  out  my  clean  shirt  of  a  morning  as  if  it  had  been  a 
shroud  ;  and  cleaned  my  boots  as  though  for  a  man  on  his 
-  last  legs.  The  fact  is,  he  was  imaginative  and  atrabilious  — 
contemplating  life  through  a  medium  of  the  color  of  his 
own  complexion. 

This  was  the  cheerful  kind  of  report  he  used  invariably 


mr-: 


1\ 


XL] 


W/LSOAT'S  REPORT. 


~»95 


(Four 


can't  see  your 


to  bring  me  of  a  morning.  Coming  to  the  side  of  my  col 
with  the  air  of  a  man  announcing  the  strokq.of  doomsday, 
he  used.to  say,  or  rather,  toll— 

"  Seven  o'clock,  my  Lord  !  " 

"  Very  well ;  how's  the  wind  ? " 

"Dead  ahead,  my  Lord— rt'/ra///"  "^  ^     ' 

"  How  many  points  is  she  off  her  course  ?  " 

"Tour  points,  my  Lord— full  four  points  1 " 
points  teifig  as  much  as  she  could  be.) 

"  Is  it  pretty  clear  ?  eh  1  Wilson  ?  " 

" — Can't  j£e-your  hand,  my  Lord 
hand !  " 

"  Much  ice  in  sight  ?  " 

J'— Ice  all  round,  my  Lord— ice  a-all  ro-ound  1 "— and 
so  exit,  sighing  deeply  over  my  trousers. 

Yet  it  was  immediately  after  one  of  these  unpromising 
announcements,  that  for  the  first  time  matters  began  to 
loqk  a  little  brighter.  The  preceding  four-and  twenty 
hours  we  had  remained  enveloped  in  a  cold  and  dismal  fog. 
But  on  coming  on  deck,  I  found  the  sky  had  already  begun 
to  clear;  and  although  there  was  ice  as  far  as  the  4ye  could 
see  on  either  side  of  us,  in  front  a  narrow  passage  showed 
itself  across  a  patch  of  loose  ice  into  what  seemed  a  freer 
sea  beyond.  The  only  consideration  was— whether  we 
could  be  certain  of  finding  our  way  out  again,  should  it 
turn  out  that  the  open  water  we  saw  was  only  a  basin  with- 
out any  exit  in  any  other  direction.  The  chance  was  too 
tempting  to  throw  away;  so  the  little  schooner  gallantly 
pushed  her  wky  through  the  intervening  neck  of  ice  where 
the  floes  seemed  to  be  least  huddled  up  together,  and  in 
half  an  hour  afterwards  found  herself  running  up  along  the 
edge  of  the  starboard  ice,  almost  in  a  due  northerly  direc- 
tion. And  here  I  must  take  occasion  to  say  that,  during 
the  whole  of  this  rather  anxious  time,  my  master— Mr. 
Wyse— conducted  himself  in  a  most  admirable  manner. 


*    . 


.^,A    -'  ^J,^ 


I 


196 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TITUDES. 


[XI. 


Vigilant,  cool,  and  attentive,  he  handled  the  vessel  most 
skilfully,  and  never  seemed  to  lose  his  presence  of  mincf 
in  any  emergency.  It  is  true  tllj;  silk  tartan  still  coruscated 
on  Sabbaths,  but  its  brilliant  hues  were  quite  a  relief /to 
the  colorless  scenes  which  surrounded  us,  and  the  dangling 
chain  now  only  served  to  remind  me  of  what  firm  depend- 
ence I  could  place  upon  its  wearer. 

So(in  after,  the  gtin  came  out,  the  mist  entirely  disappeared 
and  again  on  the  starboard  hand  shone  a  vision  of  the 
land  ;  this  time  not  in  the  shai;p  peaks"  and  spires  we  had 
ftrst  seen,  but  in  a  chain  of  pale  blue  egg-shaped  islands, 
floating  in  the  air  a  long  way  above  the  horizon.     This 
peculiar  appearance  was  the  result  of  extreme  refraction, 
fjor,  later  in  the  day,  we  had  an  opportunity  of  watching 
the  oval  cloudlike  forms  gradually'.harderi  into  the  same 
I^ink  tapering  spikes  which  originally  caused  the  islaiid  to 
l^e  called  Spitzbergen:  nay,  so  clear  did  it  become,  that 
ejven  the  shadows  on  the  hills  became  quite  distinct,  and 
\i'e  could  easily  trace  the  outlines  of  the  enormous  glaciers 
-JTSometimes  ten  or  fifteen  miles  broad — that  fill  up  every 
vjalley  along  the  shore.     I'owards  evening  the  line  of  coast 
ajgain  vanished  into  the  distance,  and  our  rising  hopes  re- 
(|eived  an  almost  intolerable  disappointment  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  long  line  of  ice  righl  ahead,  running  to  the  west- 
|\-ard,  apparently,  as  far  as  the  eye  cQuld  reach.     To  add 
to  our  disgust,  the  wind  flew  right  roUnd  into  the  North,  ^ 
iand  increasing  to  a  gale,  brought  down  upon  us — not  one 
'of  the  usual  thick  arctic  mists  to  whrch  we  were  accustomed, 
but  a  dark,  yellowish  brown  fog,  that  rolled  along  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  in  twisted  columns,  and  irregular  masses 
of  vapor,  as  dense  as  coal  smoke.     We  had  now  almost 
reached  the  eightieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  still 
an  impenetrable  sheet  of  ice,  extending  fifty  or  sixty  miles 
westward  from  the  shore,  rendered  all  hopes  of  reaching 
the  land  out  of  the  question.     Our  expectation  of  finding 


1    I.        ,  * 


,.  t 


XL} 


A  DREARY  NIGHT. 


'~9^ 


the  north-west  extremity  of  the  island  disengaged'from  ice 
by  the  action  of  the  currents  was— at  all  events  for  this 
season — evidently  doomed  to  disappointment.  We  were 
already-  almost  in  th6  latitude  of  Amsterdam  Island— which 
is  actually  its  north-west  point — and  the  coast  seemed  more 
encumbered  than  ever.  No  whaler  had  ever  succeeded  in 
getting  more  than  about  120  miles  further  north  than  we 
-  ourselves  had  already  come ;  and  to  entangle  ourselves 
any  further  in  the  ice-^unles$  it  were  with  the  certainty  of 
reaching  land'-would  be  sheer  "folly,  fhe  only  thing  to 
be  done  was  to  turn  back.  Accordingly,  to  this  course  I 
determined  at  last  to  resign  myself,  if,  after  standin^g  on 
for  twelve  hours  longer,  nothing  should  turn  up  to  improve 
the  present  aspect  of  affairs.  It  was  now  eleven  o'clock  ; 
P.M.  Fitz  and  Sigunlr  went  tobed,  while  I  remained  on 
deck  to  see  what  the  night  might  bring  forth.  It  blew  great 
guns,  and  the  cold  was  perfectly  intolerable  ;  billow  upon 
billow  of  black  fog  came  sweeping  down  between  sea  and 
sky,  as  if  it  were  goin^to  swal^Ow^up  the  whole  universe  ; 
while  the  midnight  sun — now  completely  blotted  out — now 
faintly  struggling  through  the  ragged  breaches  of  the  mist 
— threw  down  from  time  to  time  an  unearthly  red-brown 
glare  on  the  waste  of  roaring  waters. 

For  the  whole  of  that  night  did  we  continue  beating  up 
along  the  edge  of  the  ice,  in  the  teeth  of  a  whole  gale  of 
wind  ;  at  last  al»9ut  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning, — but  two 
short  hours  before  the  moment  at  which  it  had  been  agreed 
we  should  bear  up,  and  abandon  the  attempt,— we  came  up 
with  a  long  low  point  of  ice,  that  had  stretched  further  to 
the  Westward  than  any  we  had  yet  doubled ;  and  there, 
beyond,  lay  an  open  sea  .'—open  not  only  to  the  Northward 
and  westward,  but  also  to  the  Eastward  !  You  can  imag- 
ine my  excitement.  "  Turn  the  hands  up,  Mr.  Wyse  I  " 
"  'Bout  ship  I "  "  Down  with  the  helm  1 "  "  Helm  a-lee  1 " 
Up  comes  the  schooner's  head  to  the  wind,  the  sails  flap- 


ae^ 


o*^ 


'-^ii^ 


A 


i.W 


nil 


1^ 


■f  ■• 


198  LE  TTE/tS  FJfOAf  HIGH  LA  TITUDES. 


[XI. 


ping  with  the  noite  of  thunder— blocks  rattling  »gain»t  the 
deck,  M  if  they  wanted  to  knock  their  brains  out— ropes 
dancing  about  in  galvaniied  coils,  like  mad  serpen!*— and 
everything  to  airwicxperienced  eye  in  inextricable  confusion ; 
till  gradually  she  pays  off  on  the  other  tack— the  sails  stillefl 
hfto  deal-boards— the  staysail  sheet  if  let  go— «nd  heeling 
-*^-o\'er  on  the  oppoiite  side,  again  she  darts  forward  over  the 
sea  like  an  arrow  from  the  bow.  •*  Stand  by  to  make  sail !  " 
"  Out  all  reefs  I "  I  could  have  carried  sail  to  sink  a  winr 
ofwar  I— and  away  the  little  ship  w«nt,  playing  leapfrog  y 
over  the  heavy  seas,  and  staggering  under  her  canvas,  as  if 
giddy  with  the  same  joyful  excitement  whidimade  my  own 
heart  thump  so  loudly.  ^ 

In  another  hour  the  sun  came  out,  the  f<^  deaf^  away, 
and  about  noon — up  again,  aliovc  the  horison,  grow  the 
pale  lilac  peaks,  warming  into  a  rosier  tint  as  we  approach. 
Ice  still  stretches  toward  the  land  on  the  starboard  side  ; 
but  we  don't  care  for  it  now— the  schooner's  head  is  point- 
ing E.  and  by  8.    At  one  o'clock  we  sight  Amsterdam 
Island,  about  thirty  mUes  on  the  port  bow ;  then  came  the 
"  seven  ice  hills  "—as  seven  enormous  glaciers  are  c^led— 
that  roll  into  the  sea  between  lofty  ridges  of  gneiss  and 
pica  slate,  a  little  to  the  northward  of  Prince  Charles's 
Foreland.    Clearer  and  more  deftned  grows  the  outline  of 
the  mountains,  some  coming  forward  while  others  recnle  ; 
their  rosy  tinu  appear  less  even,  fading  here  and  theremto 
'    pale  yellows  and  greys ;  veins  of  shadow  score  t^e  ■Wfep 
sides  of  ihf  hills  \  the  articulations  of  tl*B  rodts  becoaae 
vMbte }  and  now,  at  last,  we  glWc  under  the  limestolpie 
pqUts  of  Mitre  Cape,  past  the  marble  arches  of  King's  Bl^y 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  pinnacle  of  the  Vogel  Hook  on 
•  the  bther,  into  the  quiet  channel  that  separates  fl»  Foraladd 
from  the  main.  1 
It  waa  at  otw  o'ctodt  in  tha  moretng  ot  ^  <th  « 


lijClKat  ^^M^StglSiiriliviHTW 


!  i 


1-  -. 


[XI. 


^^.U^j 


J^w*'  f?^  '■ 


•f"'  t»-  !»_'"  ■»"  f'^si*- 


.XL] 


THE  JA.V  MA  VEX  ICE  KIVEKS, 


aoi 

caaie  tp  an  anchor  in  the  tilent  haven  of  English  Bay, 
itptnhtfgtH,  ^ 

And  now,  how  tball  I  give  you  an  Uea  of  the  wonder 
fui  panorama  in  the  midst  of  which  we  found  ourselves  ?    I 
tWnk.  perhaps,  its  most  strikinR  feature  wai  the  ttillneis, 
and  d^adn<ss«  and  impassibi4ity  of  this  new  world  :  ice,  and 
^       rock,  and  water  surrounded  us ;  not  a  sound  of  any  kind 
interrupted  the  silence  ;  the  sea  did  not  break  lipbn  the 
shore ;  no  bird  or  any  living  thing  was  visible  ;  the  mid- 
night sun,  by  this  time  muffled  in  a  transparent  mist,  shed 
an  awful,  mysterious  lustre  on  glacier  and  mountain;  no 
atom  of  vegetatbn  gave  toki^  of  the  earth's  vitality :  an 
universal  numbness  and  dumbness  seemed^fo  pervade  the 
solitude.     I  suppose  in^icarcely  any  other  jwrt  of  the  worUI 
b  this  appearance  of  deadness  so  strikingly  exhibited.    On 
'^       the  stillest  summer  lUy  in  England^  there  is  always  percep- 
tible an  under-tone  of  life  thrilling  through  the  atmosphere  ; 
and  though  no  breeze  lUKNiUi  atir  a  aingle  leaf,  yai— in  de- 
fault of  motion— there  is  alwaya  a  sense  of  growth ;  but 
here  not  so  inuch  as  i  blade  of  grass  was  to  be  seen  on  the 
sides  of  the  bald  eM#iated  hills.    Frimeval  raciu  and 
eternal  ice  constitute  the  landscape. 

The  anchorage  where  we  had  brought  ttp\  is  the  beat  to 
be  found,  with  ^e  exception  perhaps  of  Magdalena  Bay, 
along  the  whole  west, coast  of  ttpiubergen  ;  indeed  it  ii 
almoet  the  only  one  where  you  are  not  lieble  to  have  the 
fee  set  in  upon  you  at  a  moment's  notice.  Ice  Sound,  Bell 
.  Sound,  Horn'  Sound — the  other  harbors  along  the  WMt 
all  liable  to  be  beset  by  drift-ice  during  the 
of  a  single  night,  even  though  no  vestige  of  rt  may 
have  bam  in  ^ght  four-and-twenty  hours  before  ;  and  many 
a  food  ship  has  been  inextricably  imprisoned  in  the  very 
harbor  to  which  she  had  fled  lor  reft^.  This  bay  is. 
eompietely  landlocked,  being  protected  en  jts  open  aide  by 


frpNt  UMiea'i  P0MhMid.T&iirtofaid  \f^  piiraHel^rMT 


''JSk-^ 


liL^  ^^lip^iu  ^^tk.^  }^ 


■i 


p 

"x 


toa  L6  rrSMS  PMOAt  HIGH  LA  r/TVDKS. 


[XL 


the  m^nUnd.     Down  tow.wl.  dther  horn  nin  two  r«ii|e» 

oS  nchxiiimi  rock».  about  ..500  feet  high,  ihtit  »,dc  aJ»o« 
preopu^  and  the  top»o.«  ri^e  a.  .harp  a.  a  Tnifc.  and 
JWd  «•  a  Mw ;  the  interveniif^pace  •»  «,i„«iy  fiij^  „„ 
by  an  enormou,.  glacfcr.  *rhich.^Hh«ce«di»g  with  one  con 
twttou*  incline  from  the  head  of  a  valley  on  the  right,  and 
•weeping  like  a  torrent  round  the  root,  of  an  isolated  clumo 
of  hiUa  M  the  eetHfe-^|.  at  hwt  into  the  aea.  The  lenJi 
of  the  glacial  rtver  from  the  iH»t  where  it  app^ently  fi«t 
ongmated.  could  nor  have  been  le^i  than  thirty,  or  thirty, 
five  mile.,  or  it.  greatest  breadth  Ic.  than  nine  or  tan  • 
bjit  »  completely  did  it  fill  up  the  higher  end  of  the  valley' 
tfcaiM  was  as  much  a.  you  could  do  to  di»tinguud,  the 
Wijir  mountain,  peeping  up  above  iu   ««faee.    The 
MWit  df^ihe  precipice  where  it  fell  into  the  Na,  I  .hould 
■^  Hrs  to  have  been  about  lao  feet. 

mm.    A  kind  of  baby  glacier  actually'  hung  «uM»ended 
damn  tha  furrowed  cheek  of  the  mmnliin.  • 

ImHHTiJ^^  "*"7  '"  you  .  notion  of  the  falling 

r*.  '  u  *'*  *^  •**  unacoDuntable  did  it  M»«m  that 
•Uie  overhanging  maiM.  of  iceihould  notcont|m«  tothund^ 
dciwn  uponiiucounK,.  that  one'.  „.,«r»|  i„^|^  ^^^ 
fArink  fro«f  crowing  ,he  p,ih  .long  which  a  bre^h—' 
•«»dT^lght  preclpttate  the  ^i^nrnded  avalanche  into  the 
vaJkiy.  I  hough,  perhap.,  pretty  aaaet  in  ouiIiim  and  gen- 
eral effect,  the  .ketch  I  have  made  of  thia  wonderful  .otne 
will  never  convey  t4,  you  a  correct  notion  of  the  enormoua' 

^Thate  giaden  are  thcpHncipal  cliaracterintic  of  Om 
■cenery  in  Spiiibcr|«n  ;  the  bottom  of  every  vallty  in  av^rv 

^M  by  ihant,  enabling  o«a  in  ao^ng «.aau»  ...^kXiS 


■/. 


i 


*'<$ 


-Mv: 


X. 


XL] 


THE  JAN  MA  YJLK  tCB  X/VMl 


tos 


look  of  England  during  her  glacial  periodywhen  Snowdon 
was  still  being  slowly  lifted  towards  the  /louds,  and  every 
valley  in  Wales  was  brimful  of  ice.  Bi|(t  the  glaciers  in 
English  Bay  are  by  no  means  the  largest/ iiT  the  island.  We 
ourselves  got  a  view—though  a  very  ^stant  one— of  ice 
rfvew  which  must  have  been  more  /^tensive ;  and  Dr. 
Scoresby  mentions  several  which  actlially  nieasured  forty 
or  Wty  miles  in  length,  and  nine  or  ytn  in  breadth  ;  while 
the  precipice  formed  by  their  fall  \^%o  the  sea,  was  some- 
tinies  upward  of  400  or  50b  feet  h/gh.  J<fothiiig  is  mor« 
dangerous  than  to  approach  these  ^Uffs  of  Ice.  Every  now 
and  then  huge  masses  detach  themselves  from  the  face  of 
the  o^tai  steep,  and  topple  over/  into  the  water ;  and  woe 
be  to  the  unfortunate  ship  which  might  happen  to  be  pass- 
ing  below.  Scoresby  himself  ae^y  witnessed  a  mass  of 
ke,  tlM  sise  (^  a  cathedral,  thunder  down  into  dM  Mis  from 
A  Mght  of  400  leet ;  frequently  dMring  our  stay  at  SpKs • 
bergen  we  ourjMilves  observed  specimens  of  these  ice  ava 
lanches  ;  and  scarcely  an  hour  passed  without  the  solemn 
fUence  ^4he  bay  being  dbtui/bed  by  the  thunderous  boom 

resulting  from  similar  catastR>pbes  occurring  in  adjacent 

>alkys. 

As  soon  as  we  had  thoroughly  taken  in  the  strange  fea- 
tures of  the  scene  around  us,  we  all  turned  in  for  a  night's 
rwt.  I  was  dog  tired,  as  much  with  anxiety  as  want  of 
sleep*;  for  in  continuing  to  push  on  lo  the  northward  in 
spite' of  the  ice,  I  naturally  could  not  help  feeling  that  if 
•ay  accident  occurr^,  the  responsibility  would  rest  with 
mm  i  Mid  although  I  do  not  believe  that  we  were  at  any  time 
in  any  real  danger,  yet  fjrom  our  inexperience  in  the  pe- 
culiarities of  arctic  navigation.  I  think  the  coolest  judg- 
■wnt  would  have  httn  liable  to  occasional  nftxgivings  as 
to  what  mi^t  arise  from  possible  contingencies.  Now, 
however,  all  was  rigfit ,  the  result  had  justified  our  antici- 


m 


a04  '-^^SttS  FHOM  HICIf  LATlTtrDES,  fj^ 

irtowed  myself  .ndgly  .way'in  the  hollow  of  «y  cm.  J  co«U 

•*  manimaie  as  the  land^rape.  «PP««fttly 

My  feelings  on  awakening  next  mprning  wew  very  pie... 

•nt ;  «>meth,ng  like  what  one  u«,d  to  feci  the  fim  S^ 

/ng  after  om.'.  retuni  ff&n.  .chool.  on  s^nHinr^Z^^^ 
«l...cm„g  round,  on,..   hea4,  m«e«l  Ttbe*^  dt^.S 

wah  my  hot  water.  I  could  not  Help  triumphantly  remj^ 

fen,  after  .11.      But  WiI«mi  wm  not  a  mm  to  be  dnv^ 
f rom  h.«  convictipn.  by  f«:ts  ,  he  only  smiled  ^12 

^o   WII.on !  he  would  have  gom.  only  half  way  w^th  B.. 
r  t       '^'^  '^'^'*^  •  *''''«''W  willingly^ commit 

*Fi«;?        .  *;"^'«  •'-•^Centjpede.wjth  his  hundred  leg.. 

b::rrp:Ce-"4rn;^  ^"^..  wouidb.?. 

Immediately  .fter  bre.kf.«  we  p«IW  m  ,he  rto,e 
parrying  ,„  ,he  gjg  with  «.  the  photographic  appa^Tl 
t«nts.  guns,  ammunirlon,  and  the  gowT   Foor  eW  tii^ 

»•  Piy.  between  the  foot  of  the  mounbin  Md  Om  m.. 
LrTd**" J  '*»^  «-«»»«"  «'  Wack  moss,  about  b,if.  2 
Pornood  likely  to  ogf  my  .ttnK:tion  lo  t^ind^r^  it 


*••] 


SEARCHING  FOU  REWDEEK. 


»«>S 


/  tfii*  side  that  I  (|e|^rmined  to  laad.     My  chief  reaaon  for 
having /un  into  English  Bay  rather  than  Magdalcna  Bay 
wa«  because  Ve  Ikid  been  told^at  Hammerfest  that  it  was 
thfe  more  likely  place  of  the  two  for  deer ;  and  as  we  were 
sadly  in  want  of  fresh  meat  this  advantage  quite  decided 
«•  in  our  choice.    As  soon,  therefore,  as  we  had  superin- 
teixl^  the  erection  of  the  tent,  and  set  Wilson  baM  at  woric 
cktaning  the  glasses  for  the  photographs,  we  sluiqjf  dur  rifltt 
on  oor  backii,  and  set  oft  In  search  of  deer.     But  in  vain 
did  I  peer  through  my  telescope  acros»  the  dingy  flat  \v\ 
front  i^fia^a  vf stige  of  a  horn  was  to  be  seen,  although  in 
several  place!  we  came  upon  impressions  of  their  track. 
At  last  our  confidence  m  the  reports  of  their  great  plenty 
became  considerably  diminished.     Still .  the' walk  was  very 
,  refreshing  after  our  confinement  on  board  ;  and  although 
the  thermometer  was  beW  freezing,  the  cold  only  made 
the  exercise  mnt:  plelOluit.     A  little  to  the  northward  I 
observed,  lying  on  the  sea-shore,  innumerable  logK  of  drift- 
wood.   This  wood  is  floated  all  the  way  from  America  by 
the  Gulf  Stream,  and  as  I  walked  fr6m  one  huge  bole  to 
another,  I  c^ld  nc«  helf)  wondering  in  what  primeval  for- 
est each  had  grown,  what  ehance  ha«l  originally  cast  them 
on  the  waters,  and  piloted  them  to  this  dewftt  shore.   Min- 
gled with  this  fringe  of  unhewn  timber  that  lined  the  beach 
1^  waifs  Mi(l  strays  of  a  more  sinister  kind  ;  pieces  of  bro- 
ken  spars,  an  d^^  a  boat's  flagstaff,  and  a  few  shatterad 
fragments  of  soi^e  longlost  vessel'a  planking.    Here  and 
there,  too,  we  wt»uld  come  upon  skulls  of  walrus,,  ribs  and 
shoulder-blades^  of  bears,  brought  possibly  by  the  ice  In* 
winter.     Turning  again  from  the  sea,  we  resumed  our 
search  for  deer ;  but  two  or  three  hours'  more  very  stiff 
walking  produced  no  better  |iiJ:k,     Suddenly  a  cry  from 
Fiti,  who  had  wandered  a  little  to  the  right,  brought  its 
hatter  skelter  to  the  spot  where  he  was  standing.    But  it  waa 


■J 


■«Ml*»1.-..  ^ 


'06  ^^TTERS  FROM  HtCH  LATITUDES  >[XI 

gone—blown  oflf  probablv  bv  iho  »;-,i        'f  "»*^  "«  was 
Mretcbiid  H.^  Ki    *^. .      /^  •*>/'"*'  w»n*l--ancl  within  were 

^UMilAN  JACOB  MfJOR   . 

«B  ,  JUNE  ,758  ^T  44. 

to  wiT^K"'^'""^  "*""'  ^^^  '""'•^  o'  ^«  I««t  century 
to  whomh.H  companion,  had  given  the  only  biir«?S 
Wc  in  thw  frost  hardened  earth  which  *v*n  Z 

"«».h..  ..  I  ,.«d  o„  .h.  de«.  mariner-^  :;;jl°.7^-  ' 

"I  WM  Mowed  over  vith  mow. 
-And  beaten  with  nina. 
And  drenched  with  the  dewt  j 
'>Md  have  I  long  been,"— 

"■'"**"  '"  "«  M»i>racM  of  "Mother  Earth."  ho.. 

rw.  — ^i.  ^    etemaJly  prsMrving  them  I 

On  Mother  p,r^  of  the  coa.t  we  found  twT^r 

J.n^'ll:^'!;^^^^^  Even  in  the  pa,«" 

and  Kngl..h  .«,lor.  to  I«ve  the  wooden  coffin,  in  which 
thcyh^i  placed  their  coir-^'  ■ V**** 


i^  ^ 


>[XI. 


XI.J 


ff/£  UNBUiUEPMEAD. 


\  ao7 


the  sho^;  kiid  I  have  been  told  by  an. eye-witness,  that  in 
Magda>(;iia  jBay  there  arc  to  be  seen,  even  to  tt^is  day,  the 
bodies  of  nnerf  wlio  died  upwards  of  250  years  a^^,  in  such 
complete  preservation  that,  when  you  pour  hot  water  on 
the  icy  coating  which  encases  them,  you  can  aclmUly  see 
the  unchanged  features  of  the  dead,  tlirough  the  tr^spar- 
ent  incrustation. 

As  soon  as  Pit;;  hid  gathered  a  few  of  the  little  flower- 
jng  mosses  that  grew  inside  the  coffin;  we  proceeded  on 
our  way,  leaving  pdbr  Jacob  Moor—like  his  great  nam6r 
lalte — alone  in  his  glor)-. 

Tumii^  to  tlie  right,  i^e  scrambled  up  jthe  spur  of  one 
of  the  mountains  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  plain,  and 
thence  dived  down  among  the  lateral  valleys  that  run  up 
between  them.    Although  by  this^jneans  we  ^}ened  up 
quit^  a  new  system  of  hills,  and  iNUuns,  and  gullies,  the 
general  scenery  did  not  change  its  characteristics.    All 
^egetation — if  the  black  moss  deserves  such   a  name — 
ceases  when  you  ascend  twenty  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
•ea,  and  the  sides  of  the  mountains  become  nothing  but 
st^  slopes  of  schist,  split  and  crumbled  into  an  ^ven  sur- 
lace  by  the  frost.     Every  step  we  took  unfolded  a  fresh 
nicoesslon  of  thene  jagged  spikes  and  break-neck  acclivi- 
ties, in  an    unending  variety  of    quaint     configuration. 
Mountatn  climbing  has  never  been  a  hobby  of  mine,  so  I 
was  not  tempted  to  play  the  part  of  Excelsior  on  any  of  , 
these  hill  sides ;  but  for  those  who  bve  such  ex^xtse  a 
fairer  or  a  more  dangerous  (^>portunity  of  distinguishing 
themselves  could  not  be  imagined.    The  super-cargo  or 
o«mer  of  the  very  first  Dutch  ship  that  ever  oune  to  Spitz- 
beifen,  broke  Ms  neck  in  attempting  to  climb  a  hill  in 
Prince  Charles's  Foreland.  BarenU  very'nearly  bat  several 
of  his  men  under  similar  circumstances  ;  and  when  Scores- 
by  succeede<]  in  making  the  ascent  of  another  hill  near 


HMA  Smind,  U  Wtt  owiif  to  Ua  hiwinf  tekM  i|M  pracw' 

• 

ti 

L^iti-.^         .    t».l                      A    '••'      _,                   ."       .           ^                                '     ,                        ,       ■•»-■      ■-•-■,.. ./Itei-'                         .suit. 

- 

f/  i 


■X 


*e  exertion ;  and  I  do  no,  U,i„k  I  can  gi.e  "  b^t^. 
Idea. of  .he  general  effect  of  Spit^be™en%ce„°"  ,I^T 
quoti^  h/,  stHkingd-^ription  o,  I  ,Z^Jt:^. 

"  The  prospect  was  most  extensive  and  erand  A  fin. 
sheltered  bay  was  seen  to  the  east  of  u' ral  of  the 
same  on  the  northeast,  and  the  sea,  whos^  rfa^IJ  °  J^ 
was  unruffled  by  a  breeze  fnr«^        •  ^^  surface 

the  west .  the  i^L  ^  formed  an  immense  Expanse  on 
T.7  ^  '«»^is  reanng  their  proud  crests  almost  to 
U^  tops  of  mounuins  between  which  they  were  lodgTLd 
defying  the  power  of  the  solar  beams,  weie  s^^^^n 

toys.  Beds  of  snow  and  ice  filling  extensive  hollows  and 
pvmg  an  enamelled  coat  to  adjoinTng  valleys.  oS  r^hich 
cor^mencmgatthe  footof  the  mountain ^w^:^:^  ^^ 
extended  ma  contmued  line  towards  the  north,  as  {TZ 
the  e,^  could  r^ach-mountain  rising  above  moLntkin  u^ 

con  rasted  by  a  cloudless  canopy  of  deepest  amrc,  and  en 
hghtened  hy  the  ray.  of  a  blazing  sun.XhreS^^;:, 
^  a  feelmg  of  danger,  seated  as  we  were  on  the^nn^U 
^rocU  almost  surrounded  by  tremendr  p^l^^^^- 
T*B^  to  constitute  a  picture  singularly  sublime 
^^r  descent  we  found  really  a  very  hazardous,  and  in 
*>me  instances  a  painful  undertaking.     Every  mov^" 


I 


\ 


►'■      Vt^.i^/---;. 


[XL 


XI.] 


EXPLORING. 


209 


loose  and  soft,  we  entered  upon  it  without  fear ;  but  on 
reaching  the  middle  of  it,  we  came  to  a  surface  of  solid 
ice,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  across,  qver  which  we  launched 
with  astonishing  velocity,  but  happily  escaped  without  in- 
jury.  The  men  whom  we  left  below,  viewed  this  latter 
movement  with  astonishment  and  fear." 

So  universally  does  this  strange  land  bristle  with  peaks 
and  needles  of  stone,  that  the  views  we  ourselves  obtained 
— though  perhaps  from  a  lower  elevation,  and  certainly 
Without  the  risk— scarcely  yielded  either  in  extent  or  pic- 
turesque graijdeqr  to  the  sceAe  described  by  Dr.  Scoresby. 
Having  prettj^well  overrun  the  country  to  the  north- 
ward, without  coming  on  any  more  satisfactory  signs  of 
deer  than  their  hoof-prints  in  the  moss,  we  returned  on 
board.  The  next  day— but  I  need  not  weary  you  with  a 
journal  of  our  daily  proceedings  ;  for,  however  interesting 

each  moment  of  our  stay  in  Spitzbergen  was  to  ourselves 

as  much  perhaps  from  a  vague  expectation  of  what  we 
might  see,  as  from  anything  we  actually  did  see — a  minute 
iKJCOunt  of  every  walk  we  took,  and  every  bone  we  picked 
up,  or  every  human  skeleton  we  came  upon,  would  proba- 
bly only  iflake  yoti  wonder  why  on  earth  we  should  have 
wished  trf'tome  so  far  to  see  so  little.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
we  explored  the  neigKbwhood  in  the  three  directions  left 
open  to  us  by  the  mountains,  that  we  climbed  the  two  most 
accessible  of  the  adjacent  hills,  wandered  along  the  ma'rgin 
of  the  glaciers,  rowed  acros^  to  the  opposite,  side  of  the 
bay,  descended  a  certain  distance  along  the  sea-coast^  and 
in  fact  exhausted  all  the  lions  of  the  vicinity.       ^    " 

During  the  whole  period  of  our  stay  in  Spitzbergen,  we 
had  enjoyed  unclouded  sunshine.  The  nights  were  even 
brighter  than  the  days,  and  afforded  Fitz  an  of)portunity  of 
taking  some  ph^ographic  views  by  the  light  of  a  midnight 
sun.  The  cold  was  never  very  intense,  though  t^ie  ther- 
niometer  riimained  below  frpf7i ng  4  but  about  fear o'^lw-fc^ 


f^' 


^ 


•h  J  - . 


,uu'iS:s,x-JW 


~v 


. 


u 


2 lo  LETTERS  FROM  HlGIf  L  4 TITUDES.  [XL 

evenr  evening,  the  salt-water  bay  in  which  the  schooner  lay 
was  veneered  over  with  a  pellicle  of  ice  one  eighth  of  an 
mch  .n  thickness,  an^  so  elastic,  that  even  when  the  sea 
beneath  was  considerably  agitated,  its  surface  remained 

of  billows'of    rt"  7"'  "^^^^  '"^^^  '"^^  '^pp-— 

of  b,  lows  of  o.l.     If  such  is  the  effect  produced  by  the 

aIusT   '"''''''"  ''•  ^'^  ^""'^  P«-^  •"  «fa^  -nth  of 
tbtalH  7^""  ''"  T^'""  ^'^-"^  '""^'  ^^  the  result  of  his 
total  disappearance  beneath  the  horizon.      The  winter  is 
in  fact,  unendurable.      Even  in  the  hei.h.  .f  "^^' '^' 

.„..         .,  .       ^'**^" '"  i"e  Height  of  summer,  the 

moisture   inherent  in  the  .atmosphere  is  often  frozen  into 
innumerable  particles,  so  minute  ^s  to  assume  the  appear 
ance  of  an  impalpable  mist.     Occasionally  personsTave 
wintered  on  the  island,  but  unless  thegreaL't  prcauttns 
have  been  taken  for  their  preservation,  the  consequence 
.     have  been  almost  invariably  fatal.     About  the  same  period 
as  when  the  party  of  Dutch  sailors  were  left  at  Jan  ZZn 
a  stf^ilar  experiment  was  tried  in   Spitzbergel..     At   the 
former    place    it    was    scurvy,   rather   than    cold,    wh  ch 

heir  oult'-f     ^^^"'  r  J""  ''  ^""'^>«  ^^thered  from 

nfo^   K       '      ''^'''"■'^  '^''  '^''y  ^^'^  P^"«hed  from  the 
intolerable  severity  of  the  climate      on/.k  . 

t;H,ri^    •       u    ..    ,    .  Climate,— and  the  contorted  at- 

titudes m  which  their  bodies  were  found  lying,  too  plainlv 
indicated  the  amount  of  agony  they  had  suffered      No  dl' 
scription  can  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  intense  rigor 
of  the  SIX  months'  winten  in  this  p^rt  of-  the  worid.    Stones 
^r-<=k  with  the  noise  of  thunde?;  in  a  crowded  hut  tha 
breath  of  its  occupants  will  fall  in  flakes  of  snow  :  wine 
and  spirits  turn  to  ice ;  the  snow  burns  like  caustic ;  if  iron 
touches^the  flesh,  it  brings  the  skin  away  with  it;  the  soles 
of  your  stockings  may  be  burnt  off  your  feet,  before  you 
fee  the  slightest  warmth  from  the  fire  j  linen  taken  out  of 
boihng  water,  instantly  stiffens   to   the   consistency   of  a 
wooden  board  ;  and  heated  stones  will  not  prevent  the 


J^SSc 


t:,i/" 


SjlJ.tV 


XI.] 


PTARMIGAN. 


211 


T*^ 


sheets  of  the  bed  from  freezing.  I(. these  are  thfe  effects 
of  the  climate  within  an  air  tight,  fire-warmecl,'  crqwded 
hut— what  must  they  be  among  the  dark,  storm-lashed 
mountain-peaks  outside  .> 

It  was  now  time  to  think  of  goii^g  south  again  ;  we  had 
spent  many  more  days  on  the  voyage  to  Spitsbergen  than 
I  had  expected,  and  I  was  continually  hauntetl  by  the  dread 
of  your  becoming  anxious  at  not  hearing  from  us.  It  was  a 
great  disappointment  to  be  obliged  to  return  without  having 
got  any  deer  ;  but  your  peace  of  mind  was  of  more  conse- 
quence to  me  than  a  ship-load  of  horns  ;  and  accordingly  we 
decided  on  not  remaining  more  than  another  day  m  our 
present  berth,leaving  it  still  an  open  question  whether  we 
should  not  run  up  to  Magdalena  Bay,  if  the  weather  proved 
very  inviting,  the  last  thing  before  quitting  for  ever  the 
Spitzbergen  shores. 

We  had  killed  nothing  as  yet,  except  a  few  eider  ducks, 
and   one  or  two    ice-birds— the    most    graceful    |prtged 
creatures  I  have  ever  seen,  with  immensely  long  pinions, 
anc^  plumage  of  spotless  white.      Although  enormous  seal^ 
from  time  to  time  Used  to  Irft  their  wise,  grave  faces  above 
the  water,  with  the  dignity  of  sea-gods,  none  of  us  had  a% 
great   inclination   to   slay    such    rational    human-looking 
creatures;  and— with  the  exception  of  these  and  a  white 
fish,  a  species  of  whale— no  other  living  things  had  been 
visible.     On  the  very  morning,  however,  of  the  day  settled 
for  our  departure,  Fitz  came  down  from  a  solitary  expedi- 
;'on  up  a  hill  with  the  news  of  his  having  seen  some  pt^r- 
inigan.     Having  taken  a  rifle  with  him  instead  of  a  gun, 
he  had  not  been  able  to  shoot,  more  than  one,  which  he 
had  brought  back  in  triumpli  as  proof  of  the  authenticity  of 
his  report ;  but  the  extreme  juvenility  o'f  his  victim  hardly 
permitted  us  to  identify  the  species  ;  the  hole  made  by 
the  bullet  being  about  die'  same  size  as  the  bird.      Never- 
theless,  the  slightest  pro^pct  of  obtaining  jstinnlv  nf  fr«K»h 


r 


M 


W' 


C^*'*' 


■■4 


"••t  w«t  enottgli  to  fMoncUfl  us  to  any  .mount  M  9w 

WWch  Ht»  kupt  grtwly  M,uriog  ut  WM  the  ««mc  lie  h«d 
^J«td,  we  MiMd  our  fun^-l  took*  rtUt  in  ewe  oT  » |».. 
•IWe  bear— auci  aet  uur  race*  toward  the  hill.  A^irr  a  good 
hour'*  iHill  we  reached  iho  ahoukler  which  Flu  haii  indi- 
MM  w  iIm  aeen?  of  hh  enploU.  but  a  patch  of  tnow  waa 
Ihe  only  thing  viaiUe.    tfuddenty  I  miw  Higurdr.  wIhi  waa 
remarkably  .harp  alghtwl,  run  rapidly  in  the  direction  of 
the  aiu>w,  ^nd  bringing  hiogun  up  to  hia  .lumlder.  point  it 
--M  well  U  I  could  diatinguiah-Hit  liia  own  toea.      When 
tile  amoke  ol  the  ahot  hed  cleare«l  away,  I  luMy  expeetwl 
to  ate  the  Icetamter  proairale  j  but  he  wm  alrMdy  reioiMi- 
M^withthcigr««i«iittjtpedltion.     I>eterm(hed. to  prevent 
Mw  repetHkMi  ol  »o  dreadful  an  attempt  at  Helf  deatruction, 
I   ruahed  to  the  apot.    (iueaa  then  my  relief  wlten  the 
bloody  body  of  a  ptarmigan-driven  by  ao  point  blank  a 
timharfo  a  couple  of  feet  into  the  anow-^na  triumphanUy  < 
draiweit  forth  by  inAtatmentw  from  the  aeimlchre  whieh  it 
had  receivetl  contem|i«raiiMou»ly  with  im  death  w<Mind  and 
Ihua  happily  accounted  for  tiigurdr'a  eatraordinary  proceed- 
Mg.    Mvhn  iMM  moment  I  perceived  two  or  thee  doaen 
Mher  Mrtla,  broibera  and  aiatereof  the  defunct,  calmly 
•irutting  atMtiit  under  our  very  noeea.    By  thia  time  Mgurdr 
had  reliMMled,  V\k  had  ahM  come  up.  and  a  regular  maaaa- 
«g»  Nfan.    RetiHng  to  a  dialance^or  it  wai  the  caae  of 
Wlfthoiner  and  tlie  nunintain  reveraetl~the  two  aportamen 
otieiitfd  rtro  utMin  the  innment  r<Hninuniiy,  and  in  a  ftw 
•ecoiuU  kiaiueii  corpa««  atrewoil  itvn  Kround. 

Icarcely  had  they  tinialied  off  the  iaat  aurvivor  of  thia 
Nioliean  family,  when  we  erne  atartied  by  the  diatant  re 
Vm  of  a  voihiy  of  muahetry^  Urtd  in  Um  direetlon  of  the 
•chminer.  I  could  not  conceive  what  had  happened  Had 
•  mujUiy  taken  pla^ef  Wa.  Mr.  Wy«i  re.„a.,ing.  with  a 
iwa  doeito  ahip'a  coiit»any.  ttte  piatol 


1%  I 


.*i .  yA„ 


^■!^^^^'!?^^^'''^-^''^!^''^-'^^i"^'^^'''ilff 


^.a 


u 


Xi,]^ 


A'illtMi  A  ^14 fi  /WWA'. 


ilj 


Oteagow  ttoiuner  >  Af»ln  nmmdt^  iho  raitki  of  th«  <lriii«, 
At  »I  <r»^«nt«.  there  WM  no  lima  m  b«  lost  in  miiing  iwclT, 
.  J^tyiiig  MP  the  bird,  in  rhr«c  bund(«».  we  f|«„g  <^r«,|  J 
d«M|  liup  the  gMlly  by  which  we  h«cl  •.m^hUwI.  .mi  U,m 
J^  on  horn  ikine  to  »*«««.  la  iho  infinite  d«„g.r  of  our 
Hmb.  .nd  .H^tai.  ,o,h«,  r„her  th««  r««  down  irwil.  Z 
n^^  lower  w«,Uf  the  e«rv  which  hl.heni  h^l 
Willi  K        r*"*'""  """^  **"'  ^^'^  '^  ««« » "«»«'ved  WM 

—Hhot,  he  mopped  dead  »hort,  »nd,  making  «  MMiakini 
tmwpet  with  hi,h«nd«,  .hrleked,  r«lher  Ihiin  ihimuid.  •'7f 
you  plewe,  my  Lord  !  "-Hw  Vhm  ilready  Mid.  Wll«.n 

rwlyiylUWe  of  fotrful  Import.  C«nci»idlng  by  tbe  enthu- 
•M9  He  w«t  enhibiiinv.  that  tim  rtidmiil  in  queiilon  wm  at 

TkIiS!  '7*'*f**'" J?"  "*  »''"''*'*'y  '*>  »*»«  in«l»Mitlty  of 
tlMillou|wl,^I  coclimi  my  rWe,  und  prep<tred  to  roll  him 
"ver  the  moment  he  ihould«ipp««r  in  eight.  Xui  whM  wm 
my  diMpiKilniment.  wlien  on  U»oking  t«w»«li  the  ttkooim 
my  eye  .augl.i  »ight  of  our  three  bo«te  fftetened  loTrnw' 
•Jid  iwing  behind  Ibem  «  white  floating  obi«ci.\ttich  my 

SUSIbTifi""  "^'^  '^'•**  ****••*  "**"•*'•  ♦«»«  «>^ 

Un  descending  to  the  •hore,  1  le«rne<i  the  whole  etory 
rM  Mr.  \Vy»e  w«i.  putii^  the  «leek.  hi.  eitention  wm 
jMrf-nly  atlraeted  by  .  while  .p«k  In  the  water,  ewim 

£fd  wn  r  »*"•»-/''»«'••'  >'«r.laml.-ihe  long 
mmi  whiih  lien  over  egninet  Knglleh  Ikiy,    When  Uni 

!S'I!i'  •*!•;'!;'"•'''•  *''"«««^«^  l«  might  l.e,  wa,  about  a 
•«•  «ia  a  half  ofr.~.th«  wi4lh  of  the  diannel  between  the 
WmwI  and  the  main  beitHf  •>«,!  Av.  mile..    H,m.  M  It 

!SLi     tilL"   *'*  ^^.'*'***^'  **"'  '^^  »«o*i  .Migeeted  a  mer- 

••eertainai^ttHir  IT  Wil  a  Iw^f^ 


♦ 


IWMI^BMiiat'iiiiiia  i  i't  1 1  lid         i .  ■M^iti.^.j^  ^ 


^  bMr,  •  gun  WiM  Aiwl  jm  •  iigti||itr  u«  to  ratum  ;  but 
it  wt«  evldmt  lh«t  unkHM  «t  once  inltrccptod.  Ilruin  would 

to  m«ke  wire  »»l  him.     Tltiii  wit%  «  matter  of  no  difficulty  j 

the  poor  betwt  Mliowetl  very  liitle  rtxhl.     Hi»  Arit  im|mlM 

Wtti  to  twin)  iiway  Irom  the  Inmii  ;  end  even  «fter  he  hid 

bmm  wounded,  lie  oiity  lurtwd  round  once  or  twice  upon 

hie  pumuefT    The  honor  ol  having  given  him  hin  death 

WouimI.  reNtR  ti^tween  tlw  wivwercl  end  Mr.  Wyie  5  iKith  con- 

tend  (or  it.     The  eyiiictice  in  tunlticiing,  ae  at  least  half  a- 

dofen  mortal  wounttk.  «f»ri!  foumi  in  the  animat'a  liody  \ 

ta0h  iMy  be  coneidered  tr»  haye  had  a  ahare  in.Ma  death. 

Mr.  Grant  reitt  hie  claim  principally  upon  the  fact  *»f  hia 

having  put  two  bullet*  in  my  new  riMe~-^which  muet  have 

greatly  improveii  tito  bore  i»f  that  inatniment,    On  the 

■irength  ol  thie  precaution,  he  now  wear*  a*  an  ornament 

•bout  hia  person  one  of  the  bullet*  extracted  from  4he  gif* 

aard  of  our  priie. 

All  thia  lime.  Wiiaon  wae  at  the  tent,  bually  oeeuptMt  in 
tailing  plHiidgraph*.  At  aoon  a*  tlie  bear  was  ob^rved.  a 
iignal  waa  matte  to  him  from  the  ahip,  to  warn  him  of  th* 
viaitor  he  might  ahitrtly  expect  on  ahww.  Naturally  con- 
cluding that  tile  liear  would  in  all  piobability  make  for  tlw 
lent  a*  aoon  an  he  readied  land,  ii  Itecame  a  Kub)ect  of 
con»ideralioii  witli  Urn  what  courte  he  ahuuiil  puraue, 
Weapona  he  hail  none,  unleaa  the  ehMnktala  he  waa  uaing 
mrght  be  ao  regirded.  Mhould  he  try  the  influence  of  ehb 
rolorm  on  hia  enemy  ;  or  launch  the  whole  phiHofraphie 
«pp«ratu»  at  hit  griixly  lieail.  atul  take  to  hia  heelaf 
thought  ia  rapid.  bu1  the  heir'a  pragiwea  awmwl  equally 
•apadilloua  1  it  waa  iMceaaM^  to  tJBAtm  at  aome  npiijir 
cimcluaion.  To  f(f...wM  to  ileiert  hhi  pe«t  and  leave  tlm 
lump  In  immmmIimi  i*f  ih»  •poller  j  life  and  homw  wai« 
•qwlly  dear  m  hint,     MutMenly  a  bright  idea  ttruik  him. 

At  th»  »iw»« Jbe  i«»*L'i*^J!*gP  l^Hl^'y/*^^^^  >"  "*^  **" 


'.*;,■. 


1 1-  -^jj4-  «»  J 


rV 


XI.] 


}^tu6N\AND  THM  »M4H 


*%l 


on  M^mi  :;^#wM,4our  erow'»-iMi»t  b«rr«l  had  bMit 
Und«d  with  h«r,    At  thin  moment  it  wm  itiimilng  unocou- 
pted  by  tlK,  .i,|«  af  tite  i«rtl.     Uy  croep|„g  i„i„  u,  And  turn- 
j»f  rt»  mouth  downward  on  the  g round,  WlUon  |KirceH«d 
tMt  lif  ihmild  convert  H  hito  «  tower  or  mrength  for  him 
■•ir  nfsintt  the  emmiy,  while  itn  leflttmiite  occupant,  be- 
coming  at  once  h  victim  to  the  bear'i  voracity,  would  firol.- 
ably  prevent  the  moneter  frrmi  invemigiiting  im.  curioutly 
ita  contents.     I4  waa|Hdt«  a  pity  that  tlw  interponiiion  of 
Mw  boatt  pr«jMi«»  |HHU«g  thi»  ingeni.iu.  pl.n  into 
eMcution.     tMHbien  regularly  tim*  out  of  a  aituatlon, 
In  which  the  Wi^[^}«nt  agony  of  mind  ami  drfary  an- 
ticipation* would  have  been  ab»f»lutt»iy  required  of  liim. 
He  pictured  ^  ttene  to  himieir  \  hu  lying  fermenting  in 
Umi  barrti,  Mm  a  curirHia  viniag*  j  the  benr  enuttiHg  nueru- 
loualy  roumi  it,  p«rha|M  eracbing  it  like  a  cocoa  nut,  or  ta. 
traeting  him  lik«  «  |i«>riwinkle  !    DC  the»e  chance*  he  had 
btf n  tieprived  by  tlie  interference  of  the  crew,    iriendi 
•M  olten  inH^l<Mt»ly  meddling. 

Although  \  felt  a  Jlttia  vtaation  i|iat  one  of  u»  ihould 
not  have  hail  the  htinor  of  ilayiiig  the  bear  in  aingle  com- 
bat, whidi  would  certainly  have  liewn  for  the  benefit  i»f  hia 
akin,  the  uneapecteil  luck  of  having  got  one  at  all,  made 
tia  i|iilffl  (orgtt  oiir  peraonal  diaappointment,    A»  for  my 
Iftofrit,  Ibty  were  bealde  lltemaelva*  with  ilelighl,   To  have 
kUW  •  ||ot«f  bMr  wa«  a  great  thing.  Imt  to  aai  him  would 
bt  a  ir«i(ar.    If  ariiaiiciilly  d«Mit  wiih,  hi«  carcaae  would 
jmibably  cut  up  into  a  .upply  of  freth  meat  f..r  many  daya, 
Una  o(  the  hands  happened  to  be  a  butcher.    WlutiMiver  I 
waniMl  anything  m  little  out  of  the  way  to  be  done  on 
board.  I  was  sure  to  find  that  it  happined  to  be  th«  ^> 
H§itt4  of  soma  one  of  the  ship'a  comtMny,    In  the  emirta 
«f  •  ftw  houra,  the  lata  bear  was  converted  into  a  row  of  ' 
Iba  wat  tamqing  mwraak  ol  baef,  hung  about  the  rigging. 
TIIIIII4  If  ill  «i|i,  lilt  Wpvpnieaaid  in  PHir   In  $£• 


*-  ^  .-alLX 


♦•y  .r 


•i6 


^ 


IMrrHMM  PMQM  MWtt  U  nfJt)i»MS.  pM. 

mttn  time  it  mhtp^mmA  ^at  Mic  Um,  ii«v%  Molm  •  pfMt 
»(  ulUI,  WM  ia  «  lew  rnitiuit!ii  iilt«rrviirU»  ,Mfiitd  irHli  eoM- 
viilAkNM.  I  hml  itMiMiy  f  (v«n  orders  ilwt  th«  bMr*!  l||^r 
i|iuuUl  bi^  lhr(*«vH  ovtrlMNlvd,  it  bvlNg,  if  not  po^pnoiM,  it 
ttl  tvsNti  v«ry  unwhuitfMMM,  'Hte  Mii«4ir«  of  ^iMi, 
(ioupiwi  'Wdh  thU  iiijiiiM;:tion«  tyrought  nbnut «  complMc  rpy. 

,  olutiiiii  in  tiM  iiMti'n  niiiMit,  wiiti  r«r|{4ril  u>  tfc«  iMlMiliM 
tlMijr  -KikI  iMwn  ao  d«iniiiy  ^•)MriitK  tot  ifiBiimlyti.  M' 
Itiitl)',  OM  tiy  oM,  t}ti>  iilMiK*  w«r«  MitiM  and  tlifo^n  Into 
IIm  M«  ;  1  do  not  think  •  mouiMul  of  bc&r  wm  mmi  flii^ 
bottfii'tlM  "  /^M."  i  n«v«r  ^mi  Mm\mt  it  w«»  in  con 
»«({u«im«  of  Miy  |*roKno«ti(;»  «if  m\mtn»  tittt.  tbi*  «ct  of 
Mlf'itvttlii  WM  iwt  into  ^«etkw.  j  ii|M«v«d,  hmnvm, 
Umi  fiMP  MNM  dtyt  i^tcr  ttM  #liui|(iit«r  Mtd  dlwiMifalwriiHPiit 
e(  tin  Iwnr,  my  ifoi^'»  eoMfNitfy  |#r«««ii(««l  mi  unM  c^iuntNbly 
ftllMk  ii|i|MuimiNW,  ^  for  tlt«  ftMnriird,  hit  tnttul  %m\  whk* 
kan  M«iMpd  iirv«d  tmt  of  tihiel  NMrblif  \  «  v«riii*iM«i  iMot 
Wdiild  mi  htv«  lookMl  iMlf  to  Ivight  {  f  conld  h«¥«  mmm 
to  thAv*  myMif  in  hi«  W«k  h«ir.  I  oon^M*,  th«rirfi>re, 
thiit  ih«  Innenious  «oo^  inuvi,  Nt  ttit  cvcnti,  hw  wrnxmnkA 
in  ntttHUlii«.^ii)nK  «  Mi|i|My  t4  ^mim  ,\m§t'n  gfmim,  of 
«rhit!h  tk»y%»A  iMfily  ivnitod  thmnmivm,  ^ 

Th«  bifiififf  of  th«  bMr  hid  to  giorioiMly  ■nimpi  mi 
vMi  tft  i  ipliihcrfiti,  thit  oyr  dhM|ifK«ioini«ft(  iliout  thff 
dMtr,«Miii  no  iongffr  thoMght  of ;  it  mar  itwr«im»  with  tifht 
h««rtii,  iind  otott  mm^hai  iMitiil«ction,  that  wt  pri^Hpl 
(or  d«|Hirturt. 

H(M  M»rhin  hid  ilr«idy  iMrvid  mi  •  fkit  MkMMi  tn  Mi- 
•rri^lon,  in  RomNO   bttArt,  r9it>m4in$  th«  Vhdt  of  tht 

,  "  /Ihm*  "  to  Knglhdi  Akiy  i  NAfI  t  mirn  hMvlng  hmrn  vrMnad' 
10  fMiiNvi  4t,  ihi.lihhH  w««  M^vmnly  tilt«il  (<>  ii»  ritlinf • 
|PWMii    «f noMHiitH  I  ^it^Mi  i  ftn  jioiii  M^ntiiniiifi  n  mwn* 
oTMidiim  fhntlir  to  tiMl  Ml  ii  /in  Maytn,  ■•  iNrfl  it  • 
l»rin(t(t  dinn«r  invitit^  from  f««ly  ''■•»^,  whhdi  I 


;A.  ;=  ^■/■ij.-i^i;;' 


'.£.-.      ■».;   .     .   ,.      .'■■€*■■' Jsikife.' 


.i;^>:". 


^\f^ 


,  lA*"^^-' 


e- 


r\ 


»• 


XI.] 


/CM  4^k  MOi^Jifii. 


■7 

•Mt  iIm  nid*  momimant,  and  broyght  on  botrd  with  ut  • 
iMil  o(  drilMiiod  to  Mfrva  ti«titlt«r  h  Chrtttnwi  yul«. 

'  teff^  w«  bad*  jin  citrnt)  Mtktu  to  th«  tttent  htlU  %mM 
-mi  MM(  iNitiftitnir  uictwir,  iloott  mit  to  m«,  I^  idm* 
iMMft «  iMli  u(  wind  itill  Ittft  Ut  hnitging  About  the  shtire, 
In  tlM  mkbt  o(  •  gniv*  loctoty  of  m«1m  i  but  aoon  itft«r,  11 
fitttlp  bTMM  ipmiilr  up  In  tlw  touth,  and  about  thrvt 
o'clock  on  Friday,  th«  itth  M  Auguat,  wt  afilii  found 
ourMilve*  Mpanking  along,  bafora  a  aijtrknot  br^Maa,  ovar 
Um  yik\o  gruan  Ma, 

U  ionaldaring  ttia  oouria  on  withih  I  ahuuld  take  tha 
futile  Iwiat,  It  apiNiarad  to  ma  that  in  all  pfobabiiriy  wt 

^•Hould  hiM.baan  much  lait  paalarad  by  tha  tea  on  our  Iray 
to  ttpitilMVani.tfrlimitamitif  hugging  th«  nattarly;  lc;i), 'wa, 
kad  ka(K  mora  away  to  Ute  waitward;  \  liitfrmiuad  Ut«ra> 
f0ra--aa  (Mnhi  aa  wa  gm  elaar  of  tlii  kifl--4o  itMid  right 
•ypr  to  |ha  Oi;aanland  ihorai  on  a  dua  wail  «ouni«,  an^  not 
to  Mttampt  to  4nakli  any  nouihing,  unlit  wa  ahoaki  hi«i 
atruck  the  (JreenlaAd  ice.  Ilia  tanglh tA  mf  l«ih«r  ln''4hat 
direction  being  aM^rtaiitad,  w»  oouid  then  Jwiga  of  tlia 

I  width  of  tha  ehannal  down  whleh  Wa  ware  to  baai,  f»r  It 
iWaa  alill  blowing  prmty  freth  from  tha  aouthward. 

U|i  lo  the  Mvuiiriig  of  the  day  m  \irhii  ti  wa  quKtadl  J(ii|i> 
Ibh  May.  the  weatiteir  iiNil  been  miMt  tieautifnl  j  vaim,  .aut^ 
Ullny.  dry,  and  phiaaani.  Wiihlii  a  few  houre  of  our  gai 
ting  under  wiMt.  »  great  uhanga  hid  laUn  pla«e»  and  by 
midriiglit  it  hm  \mMm  aa  toggy  awl  dtiagreeabbi  aa  ^vwf> 
tlie  MM  waa  pretty  elaar  During  the  few  daye  we  had 
\mn  on  eluir^.  tite  northerly  uurrenl  i»i[  bru»he(i  a^^y  the 
groat  angular  ftald  of  l«a  whlah  had  lain  off  ih«»  thor*^  In  a 
■trth-watt  diraetlon  i  lo  that  Inataad  af  Nl)|g  obliged  n^ 
flM  nil  flfir  nearly  to  (ha  loth  parallel,  In  order  to  raund 
%  #1  ^im^  enableit  to  lail  lo  the  westward  nI  nnm.  Uwh 
togiha  iourae  of  the  MJiio.  w»  cjiihii  ii^im  omji  or  two  wan- 


*■* '  „ 


^ 


♦ 

'    5f 


t' 


mmm  prtgl^liW*irfi»,  iHii  io  iooifly  ^had  llMii  wa 


.  •  ^ 


t  4,  ,  1  ^ 


Ji      '  \^.i^li^^  /  *i.i 


J-<«' 


•It 


-w^ 


UA  no  diftcolty  in  putMng  throygh  ihem.  About  km 
fs??  Jl*^**  iporning,  »  iupg  Ihm  oT  cioM  k«  wm  ra- 
I»orlid  rigm  «  ImmJ,  Krvtclting  jouUi  m  («r  m  IJm  tfreoMltf 
rrach.  W«  liad  oonm  abota  tigiNx  mtlM  linet  \mvt^ 
Mpitf bergen.  Tb#  UMid  boyndiuy  oi  tb«  OtmiiImmI  ktrZi 
•MMMiwr  ruM,  ^ccordJog  to  l«c^r«.l,y,  nbwg  the  »econd 
INIf  »^l4o^  W^it  bflgitiuk.     Thb  W«  iMil  |UM«4|y  cr«».o«|  ; 

fo  ttet  It  «^  to  b«  pinmmA  ^  biirrk«d«  w«  mw  b«l0» 
u.  WM*  Monitor  of  tJM  «««4  i«r.  In  «»ord«K5«,  Oim*. 
lore  wi(h  my  pr«iJ«ttrmliHMl  p|,«,  w«  now  btgiii  wodiinf 
toib*  •o(iilm«fd,  Mtd  tb«  mmiU  (iilly  JiMtflted  My  ospiet*- 

!*•  M* bwMM  flomitmtlvtjy dttr,  m ftr  m  owM N 
w  rrom  ib«  ikck  of  tb«  veM«| ;  tltlioMgh  »m«ll  vagrMit 

\|IAteb«»  u(  k«  lb«t  W«  c«m«  U|l  wilb  OCOMblMlly-M  Mil 

ii  Ibt  t«itttMr<itur<.  «rf  Uw  aJr  .nd  tho  itt-cimtlwi*!  lo 
UMflB^  lb«  jHoiimitjf  olUrg«r  b«ttM •■  tWm  .W. ol (li 
II  >Kt*  »  MirioiM  MftMtbn  witb  wbleb  w«  bud  grMiuaUy 
Mnmt  to  conien}))iiii«  (hi*  inM^«bi«  •irtwMtiloii  t  U  bid 
>N»«ii«  «  pan  ol  mil  daily  •«lat«tic«,  an  m\*m»ni,  a  Ibing 
wHbottt  wbteb  tb«  gaiurrai  aapMi  ol  |li«  univ«rM  would  b« 
iri^ar  and  incomiMtto.   Il  waa  tlit  Ural  iWwg  wa  ibougbt 
of  in  tha  morning,  tb«  |aat  tbing  wa  afKiba  si  0  iilgfct.    H 
fitllarad  and  grinnad  maticiiMiiily  m(  u«  in  tba  aumddiM  i  ll 
wliibad  myatarioualy  (iiruugtt  ihf  miHing  (og ;  it  atratibid 
llaelf  Mka  a  proalrata  giani,  with  l«ug«,  i^tantoua  abonldMi 
■Jd^adowy  ibiiba.  Hgbt  aoroaa  our  mmmi  m  4mmi 
fMMMlyin  brokan  groupa  In  tba  ilitUi  irirfifftnir'n  umbo, 
tbar^waa  no  gatting  rid  of  It,  or  forgattbig  U  i  Md  II  •! 
nigbt  Wi  aomattm«»  raturnad  In  ^t9wm  to  tb«  fratn  aum 
••f  mNid— larlba  fmsuviX  barvaat  Aabla  i|  d^liiid,  aiKl 
biitd  "  tbo  wnfibura  of  binwuafoMi  h&mt  m  tin  mm  #1 
ttrbi  tm  tbymy  Kiilanda-^^lmmp  I  bump  I  aplaali  I  gift«^| 
—came  il»a  wM»n  ramlndar  ol  our  friand  on  Ibo  i 


ST*/ 


.■  •- .    » ' 


V"-"^.* 


•  f^-^^S.^'    J   '""'^ 


%  •?       ■^-~ir*'(FT/> 


'f. 


XI.] 


^  sAVMtiftvH  n>  kni.s'. 


•»f 


vent  moni  Mrrlou*  colli»iiinii.  Murtuiv«r,  I  aMitil  not  #•) , 
with  ytm  oki  French  fr|«ri,f,  th«(  ^*  l?«iiim«rUy  lirMiit  d«. 
»|ih»  "  Tlw  mm  w«i  mw  oI  ii»  Uw  i«M  w«  VCkmk  U  j  it* 
««W  |miMit«a  MHit  A  diyty  MttM  o/  diaoMiraKonM^ni  li^iha 
heart,  mmI  I  \m\  tUlly  lo  mniiglo  wiili  tut  nfiUiiii  <k»ir«  u. 
Ihrow  «  Ukm  at  Wihtntt'ii  hMtl,  eviry  ame  hU  i«|Nikhf»l 
vuice  MimiuticMfi  th«  '*  !«<}  ati^mmdr 

It  wait  Mi»f  unril  ilM  i4ih  of  Auguii,  Avb  4«y9  ili«^ 

qultlhig  H))ii>lN>rK«M,  ihNt  lyn  hwi  night  irf  it  sltiiRiither. 

'Ff«m  IhNt  muNMitt  iit«  tt»w|MfrMUir(i  »r  ihu  m^  iiMiMlily 

roM,  MNl  w«  r«it  th«t  w«  w«ir«  Mliing  limili  inniH  inta  the 

A  Mil  etrnnt  whJi  h  m  rurritt  noon  nfiiir,  in  MNtM  mirti««int 
iMirrMi  <iMr  wiijiiywmii  fjf  liio  Lltnimti,  Kyar  iiiiM.it  nhit  lt«ii 
Mt  |{iiram«rr»iil,  it  hud  iMemnii  tiNi  «yi«lMit  lh#t  «  mm 
fuifii  iil«  liiii  not  MirrfMi  with  iIhi  giMt.  Kmhi  t^  fun  on 
fthora  at  N|}iixit«rgen  liiut  mit  mOkmik  to  r»|MUr  h«r  ih«t 
ttrwl  (^onftiiiMii'Hi,  Hnii  iho  hittl  waaihsr  wii  h»i|  hml  «v#r 
m^  fMmyiUUiA  iu  ruin.  It  wan  («rlain  that  tha  buliht^r 
••a  (iM  iwiy  jiloenif  who  cmili<  mm  ttitra  h«r,  In  a^|«, 
^mMiv,  «llha  fliatrtaa  it  m'.»aai«i»iMl  Mi|M  Marian,  I  MM 
■•Mplillil  to  iiMiua  m<i«rii  for  Iwr  anvrutiiHi.  Migut^r  waa 
Uto  filly  paraan  who  rafaniad  tint  ir^gital  avant  with  in^ 
rfiffarama,  nay,  ahnoat  wilii  thtilxlii,  Kvi^r  aini^a  wa  hail 
•fimiiianiiMl  taiiinf  in  a  amnharty  diraetion,  wii'juul  Ummi 
obiigMi  ti}  Itaat  i  hyt  during  ihn  ijni  ftaut  and  twanty  hninn 
Iha  wiwi  kafU  dodging  ua  m^iifi  tima  wa  laahnd,  aa  a  nirv- 
Mia  pMlaairian  aata  t^t  you  aomatlmaa  m  «  narrow  /fWiM^ 
This  a|Nril  of  ill  iucli  iha  U^landaC  haa^nlthly  thought 
mmM  only  Ip  ranwi^ad  ^  a  aa<?rffliia  m  fthim  iha  giiddaaa 
nl  ^  aaa,l|«  which  light  ha  trualail  aha  would  hmlf  npm 
fhffnat'*!  iMdy  wiian  it  i>^Mna  to  baihliwn  nytHwitrd. 

Whallwi  ^hr  tjtangt*  whMr  foHowad^npiHrrtiit  Tiyni^- 
mm%  vA  har  rtmiiNa  to  iha  da«|i  maily  rnaullnd  fnmi  aiifh 


.jiE...«ji£tfi*.»ttiij. 


r 


li 


•»•  '-^''^Ma  IfMOM  fNOil  LATiWDMS.      \  [XI, 

•Jil«flu*«cc.  I  «„  ,uH  pr»|i««|  to  My.  The  «r««Uiii|. 
•wyd  >IUin,ftl»cr ;  WxWm^  tli«  calm  la»i«i|  «^e^ 
^f,  M«ai.g  «,d  t«mW|„g  r«rtl««Jy  %  W-i««. -^,^1 

«»"«•  ■tewly  (mmmmkI  iitto  tha  iKirtfHmit. 

diiidiiUlmMMi  folUm«il~4  l.re|illil«»«|i««.r-^„U|, « 
r^*^'f**»  •*«»»»'.  ««•«  «»!«»"•.   v«lr«  «f  jl,.,  .4,^„ 

fc-rtuo^rii^AN.p  i^kiiyw«.^,,«,„r«.iyf:!;Tri 


•  T'^  <»*«'rlli«  Mfa  MMli  Mi^i  f,w«r  liiwi  rjirfc,f,7,&"o^ 

Mf  v«iyVi»fl  IN)  «v«r  wvnt,  «rwJ  #40 


l^y  fclpi^  *'*^  "•  »-^.v.ry  fa«r«iMl 

Aiiya^gr«id#f  ,„4,,^  •»*^»<"i  •»»««•«*•  iWit  «r 

•^lyWy«M.r,,KHl«p»rl.   ^l««r«Wi,My.«,rl,i«| 
•^«  In.  ii«»,,«,mU  ilMr  Im  »lgh(  «tiicli  mmttfmtm^ 

J|m  i«-..y  Imu  iM«  iIh^  .ir  «.t  ttm  ,u,m    Uk/.lZ 

mm  Ui  iMHtf  HtNM^i,  ytmr  vttfy  iMMd  ;  ImiI   Mm  il  tiMNilii 

»M.r  lM*l^«d  r««^|  Mid  li«W,U«g  «-  «„  ^  JrZ 


".t  » 


«^*y 


/ 


»'"-5 


J 


..•:*.'5 


^  ^^ 


j"*?!- 


■  V 


|X1.] 


\WnJtON  ON  TtlH  MXKfJITItOU. 


Ml 


round  back  (at  nliMd,  i^uaily  inreiiiittf  upwards,  m  it 
g«tlMr»  fttrength  Md  v<M<Mne  (or  tt.iMrw  «IIort. 

W«  Ititil  iiitw^ot  4;oniiiderAbiy  lu  ^hc  iwMitltwMd  of  N<»rtfi 
CijM»,    W«  hod  Already  Mf«n  iKfveral  ithipit,  and  ymi  woufd 
bardtjr  imagiiM  with  wliat  cbitditdi  d«;iight  myp<»ipi<i  itailed, 
tfcta*  ajmipiomN  i>(  liaving  again  reactt«d  more  "  Christie  ' 
ladtudaa,"  aa  (fc«y  caJbd  iiMm 

I  liait  alwMyi*  iii|«nd«d,  ever  idnk^^y  crHiv«!r»ati(in  wMi 
Mr,  I*.  Alxiut  iiie  MiioUirom,  i«}  havii  calt«d  in  ut  \A%'Riv^tn 
IMandtt  on  our  way  *m\KpM\  a«ts«rtaiii  U»  iny«»if.itw;  r«al 
(rath  about  tkiit  (mn$mi^itrUin,  I'ii  hav«  tMott«d  aueh  A' 
bmbmir  out  i^^ibfTmap  of  ICuropa,  if  its  aaiataiMSe  rtally 
waa  a  m/i\ymm\t\  ut  all  «went»  bav«;  r«nd«r«<l  our  <.-ruiM 
not  alUigarHvr  f  ruiiltNM,  Hul,  r  inai  leavinK  Mpit«iierK«ii,  wt 
ImmI  navtr  onra  m»n  di«  «un«  and  to  attampt  to  inaita  ao. 
^||iif*nNia  a  4Mal  in  a  gale  of  wind  and  a  tbiidt  Mia!,  widk 
fl|»lNMV  ftarlMin  lthowt«di{w  of  the  tibip'it  position  thin  our 
d«a<i  rii^ttoning  airtmiud.  wan  nut  of  tite  i|u«k(ioH  }  m«  about 
on«  o'i^to^  in  tiM  moritiny,  ti»«  wtfatiior  giving  imj  nigna  of  im- 
|M'ov«nMnt,>l|a  eouraa  I  dad  abapad  in  tba  dimttion  ttl  tb« 
liland  wan  aitWifd,  and  wa  atwad  away  again  to  (be  aoutit- 
ward.  'I'bi»  MiaiM«iiv4^«  wait  mi  uiMd^^rved  by  Wiiaon,  but 
b«  miatoiiii  it*  nManitig.  {  1  laving,  I  m^m,  ovrrit«ard  u« 
(ailting  atdinnar  about  tb#lf  a«i»trom.  b«  n<iw(j<m«,iud«d  ib« 
auprama  b^Mir  bad  affiv«d,  K«  did  not  aaactly  M^mpraband 
(bn  t«rni«  w«  uwtfii,  but  bail  gKbartd  (bat  (ba  Mot  waa  ont 
fraugbl  wltb  danger,  (  oncli^ing<Q>m  '^ir  jSmlitfi  (mmM 
bi  (ba  vaaaal'v  t»iuraa  (bat  wu  w«r«  pr(le«M0iig  liNvafda.! 
(ba  draaiiful  bM^ality,  ba  gava  bimaalf .  up  («» 4Mf^rrMMi4iy 
liiaaing  in  bia  kmmmk  in  abwpbwa  anciaiy,  4t  laaT^ 
bafi  of  bit  foriflMMllHgii  W4»  gr«a(«r  (ban  Iw  «mW  tiaar  j  bt 
g»«(»  up,  a(«al»  Info  ibe  llfKUir*  cabin,  wal2l«  liint  up,  and 
ataitding  mtm  Idm-^HM  (b«  maMMngar  of  lit  tidinga  onea 
MMd  mm1Mm'^WU^imf%,*>iifr'  »WlMfia  llfatM 
FIti,  tblHkingr 


'    m 


I  ' 


-■x.aaj«^.^.J-:^  .   . 


J* 


iMck  to  bed  like  .ipbwiom,  |«avi«g  Ui*  JJo«aor  Btterl  v T 
•bl«  u»  divine  tlMi  n^M^ion  of  hi.  v^   ^^ 

l-lie  wlu,|c.  of  ,h«,„.«,  d-y  the  gale  c«,ri„^.  ^^  ^ 
««w  Mllj^d  back  i,.u,  niglu  ;  it  bcc«n«  therefore  »  oimO^ 
hem  Iw^  it  wo«ld  b«  .d vinahte  to  c«rry  o„  durW  th  ^^ 

ho««  pr  dark„^  co„.id«,„,  h::~  7i;;r':f 

^««r  real  p.«Uian.  A.  I  ihink  I  hM^nX^Jl^^ZZ 
»«  ymi.  tlje  we..  c«a.t  of  Norwy  i.  v.ry  d^t^iur/^ 
Unuou.  .Iu«.t  of  .sunken  rock.  lie.  oMt^uZ'^^^ 
tor«i»htort.nmihr.to^..  'ih.re  J^j^JJ^tt 
warn  the  m«Wiicr  oflf ;  wid  if  «.  •««  «,!  "»""**'^»  »« 
hM.  >«  w«  ^t-k.     -  "^  «  ■«  WW*  wrung  in  our  reckon- 

•*»^  on  the  iMd  iKKMier  th.n  we  eit^cl«i.     I  kn^^i. 

rtr::rti'^  ^ «-  ««q«i«cru«^weL'rtJk: 

»n  ob«»rv«4lon;  but  tlm.  wn.  ,»f,  vuluable.  .nd  i  *^ 
fa^l  y««  ^oubl  be  gtfing  «.^.  Th«  ^?™T 
*»*•    Mi«h  ifwiiittakim  Midi  ••  we  w«rT*.«.f:!t      '^ 

eould  it#M  k.  ^       L         «w»»««»«M»n  might  be,  the  error 
■i4i-«w  t .  .  ^**  "**•*     **«<^h  were  th*  eeii' 


[XI., 


X(.] 


"  Bh'HAKKKS    A/iKAO  /' 


»»3 


Wyte  in  Um  c«btn,  and  much  ftngerii^  of  the  charU,— 
detennined  me  to  carry  on  during  the  nig|it 

Neverthclefit,  I  confer  I  was  very  uneaay.  Thoi^h 
1  went  U*  bed  an«l  foil  a»W|>— for  at  mia.  nothing  prevents 
that  proccM~i-my  Khnnlierft  were  cottsUMty  agitated  by  the 
mo4i  vivid  dreams  tha[t  I  ever  remember  to  have  had. 
Dream*  of  an  arrival  in  Kngiand,  and  your  coming  down  to 
meet  u«,  and  all  t lie  pleaMire  I  hsul  in  recounting  our  adven- 
tiM-e^*  to  you  ;  then  uiddenly  your  face  seemed  to  fade  away 
Iwneath  a  veii  of  angnr  grey  aurge  that  brolie  over  low, 
•harp-pointed  roeka  ;  an^ohe  next  moment  there  tvaounded 
over  the  ship  that  cry  whicV  has  been  Ilic  preface  to  ao  many 
a  diaaaier-Hhe  ring  of  whl^h,  none  wi'tu  have  ever  heaid  it; 
•re  likely  to  forget—"  lireakerii  alifcad  ! " 

l«  » moment  I  wa«  on  deck,  lireMwd— f<^  it  i»  alwaya 

test  to  dlMa,--iml  there,  aiire  eii^ugh,  right  ahead,  about 

a  mite  and  a  half  off,  through  the/mlat,  which  had  comm  on 

vtty  iUck,)l  could  dialinguinh  lli^  U|>ward  »h»oting  fluff  of 

«••  •hatt^ring  ag4in»t  r«ck».     No  land  wa«  to  lie  iteen, 

but  the  line  of  breakera  every  inilant  liecame  more  evident  j 

•t  the  iMce  we  were  goings  in  Wven  or  eight  mimilea  we 

_Aatt!<l  lie  ujUMi  them.    Now,  tftought  I  to  myaelf;  m  ahall 

•••  wlMsther  a  nUMit  heart  bei^l«  lieneath  the  ailk  tartan  I 

The  reault  cover«||  that  brilliant  garment 'with  glory  ami 

••It  ««tor.    "lo  tack  w«a  knpoaiiible,  w«  oould  only  wear, 

— wid  to  wear  tn  Midi  ••••  waa  no  very  pleMMit  opemion. 

iut  the  little  ahip  Miemed  to  know  what  ahe  waa  aboul^  m 

well  aa  any  of  u» :  up  went  the  helm,  round  came  the 

■chooMT  into  tlM  trtMH^  af  iht  a«a,^iigh  «*vef  lier  quarter 

loUpkMl  Ml  miormoua  mm,  budt  up  of  1  know  tiot  how  many 

lona  of  w«tor,  and  fctttig  mm  tke  dodi  ^^^  mm  mm- 

eotimable  wriggle,  an  inatant  ere  it  thuwbrad  down^dielMd 

tWMl«d  her  atern  on  ofte  aide,  awl  the  wave*  paaaed  under^ 

mpA.    In  MM^hor  minute  her  ^ad  waa  to  the  ae«,  the  ^ 


V 


\ 


.  'iU£A1il    '  > 


^224  I.KTTERS  FKOAt  I/IGH  LATITUDES.  [XI.. 

What  was  now  to  be  done  ?  That  the  land  we  had  seen 
'  was  the  coast  of  Norway  I  could  not'  believe.     Wrong  as 
our  dead  reckoning  evidently  was,  it  could  not  be  so  wrong 
as  that.     Yet  only^e  other  supposition  was  po^ible,  viz., 
that  we  had  not  come  so  far  south  as  we  imagined,  and  that 
we  had  stumbled  upon  Roost--a  little  ropky  jiland  thatlies 
about  twenty  miles  to   the  southward  U  the  Loffodea 
Islands.     Whether  this  conjecture  wns  Correct  or  not  did 
not  much  matter;  to  go  straight  away  to-^Tea,  and  lie  to 
unt.1  we  could  get  an  observation,  was  the  only  thing  to  be 
done.     Away  tl.en  we  went,  struggling  againsfa  tremen- 
dous sea  for  a  good  nine  hours,.until  \ve  judged  ourselves  to 
be  seventy  or  eighty  miles  from  where  wo  had  sighted  the 
breakers,--when  we  lay  to,  not  in  the  best  of  tempers.    The 
next  mommg,  not  only  was  it  blowing  as  hard  as  ever,  but 
all  chance  of  getting  a  sight  that  day  seemed  also  out  of 
the  question.     I  could  have  eaten  my  head  with  impatience 
However,  as  it  is  best  never  to  throw  a  chance  away,  about 
half-past  el^en  o'clock,  though  the  sky  resembled  an  even 
Sheet  Of  lead,  I  got  my  sextant  ready,  and  told  Mr.  Wyse 
to  do  the  same.  ^ 

.Now  out  of  tenderness  for  your  feminine  ignorance  I 
W  sta|  that  in  order  to  take  an  observation,  it  is  neces- 


s»ry  to  ig^  Insight  of  the  sun  at  a  particular  moment  of  the 
day:  thiMohient  is  noon.  When,  therefore,  twelve  o'clock 
came,  and  one  could  not  so  much  as  guess  in  what  quarter 
^  the  hea^ns  he  might  be  lying/..^.,  you  may  suppose  I 

^e^r^^ST"!?-    '^'"  '"'""*'^  P^^^^-     ^'  ^v««  evTdent 
^e  w^re  doomed  to  remain,  kicking  our  heels  for  another ' 

SJ^'       Tt"  "  '^  '""'  ^PonJO^  spot  of  brightness 

!^^^™"^/,      r^"^^  '''''^''^-    The  indistinct 
omlmj  gnsw  a  httle  clearer;  one-half  of  him,  though  still 
beh.^  a  cloud,  hardened  into  a  sharp  edge.    Up  w^nt  the  ' 
»e«tant.    "  5^.43  !"  (or  whatever  it  was)  I  shouted  to  Mr. 


^1' 


f 


a 


o 

H 

X 
O 
r 
D 
O 

H 

X 
R 


\. 


d  seen 
ang  as 
wrong 
le,  viz., 
id  that 
latlies 
Sodea 
>t,  did 
lie  to 
to  be 
smen- 
vesto 
d  the 
The 
r,  but 
ut  of 
ence. 
ibout 
even 
iiVyse 

ce  I 

;ces- 

Fthe 

lock 

liter 

»sel 

Jent 

ther' 

no! 

less 

inct 

still  ^ 

the' 


I 


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It 


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*^J 


MAuitmm  A^m49m^ 


••? 


•Hly  ilw  f  li«r«|i«iMiy  o«  «  m))i>  litiwiwn  tit.    Wn  h«ii  |,„, 

««jil.    W«  m,.  .11)1  »,»„rly  i«i  mll».  (mm  ,m  ^«i.- 

"  tK«  flflimlwiiw  hAVMi«ii  Mil  «r  lh»  i«w  mjmVfimHli, 
my  !,««,"  MM  W«.  Wyw,  ««  wm  titHiHtHnl  «|(ih|I  iivnr  ili» 
llitim|»rift(f  MM, 

%  DirM  ii'ii|«i||  Ntfui  ,Uy  wff  wf r«  wfi  wMd  Vl|»tn  1  nhH 
n*m  «  v^ry  HMiy  hIhhm  nl  M«vl»iiU.m  JmiMn.  (h  iirilir  t«i 
mAhM  ihN  iti»rl)i«rn  iHtmitvii  nf  tht*  11iriiHtth)i>m  Hh*,!,  tim 
hii¥i.  Am »«  Ami  y«Mr  wny  iitiu  »Mi  i»  » -ll*.!  ihn  l^ri.ir 
IftVfl,  >^a  W«ttl^Ml  mMMih  ~M»Ih  Nbiwi  liMmiH  mllvi  litM, 
iHrtNMt  Uy  «  lf«l««  tir  law  mU  mm\H§  ^rilltl  wHii  ilm 
mnlnUttil,  m  ti  tliiiiiHf*i  If*  ii»ii  mIIm  Ih  M«wiin(,  I  NhmhIi 
lint  t^mm  kttlwfitn  ih(«  mitirf  hmmrtury  untl  i|t«  i>(imI  ii  mi 
wWk,  Hi  tiiHiM^WiHM  »«f  \\w  iiMiwtirk  nf  vuiitiNii  tiivlia  wHtvh 
Wirtlii  |(  Hit,  (li«  ^«Mi«  liy  whl»»H  n  v^wl  *m  kmihi  ti  vnry 
Ntfvww,  iiiHl  ilif  fmly  luni^iirli  tti  •HiiMik  y»ii  tii  And  itit 
pHiihhH  Ii  iHit  Himfl  fiHf  Hi  iIhi  iirlMf  M  iiiM«r  Miii,  A< 
ilili  r»N  ti  Ii  MtiTHir  fHti  ilM  Hf  4  rtliilHii»i«iM»>,  \m9lm\f  Am. 

•IWl  rliifflf  Ml^ly  H    fnw    ril«t    nbtVK    thU    I»^VW|  Ml    lb    MM,  III 

t^mm  ^  umiNi  li  l»  m^  HIlHi  Iwr  II  itiiftttfi  In  $  liiHtti 
•^  Niiy     ft  WM  NlfMiiy  li«||liitiiii«  Hi  |fiiw  wy  Ulw  i«iH 


M  MMfllt    tM   lldvw 


NmI  tMriMit  Mtt.    Nlmutil  m*  iitit  ilfNi  li  mi  4  i^mtm  •« 


',Ar- 


Wu 


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■"     '?^* 


M  I  Win  t«i  »wAili  «  ^1,    ItMi  Hi  I  Wii)i  khIhA  ti)  givfi  ihf 
«iiiHli»r-M|»kNi  til  MmIi  ImsIi  |imi  jmnhKihi  Mf»  «lw¥«  lit* 

Ih  «Hti()Hir  hull  N«Mf  wi  nwrn  MfftilHn  ilimM  (n  i«ttl«i 
MfM^r  liHvtnlii  itM  MUriMiiw  m  iM  HdtiI,  All  iMt  i\m  iiiH 
M  NHI  er  i  )i(Nt  itiut  ntHMArmt »  miii  It  vm  wItMtl  •*ty  mmIi 

IM)I|«H  liitt  WtNNlwil,  HftllH  il|t|«n  i|t»||««  |}(  IHm  IliMtOfMi  liM^d, 
III   'rtlFmuUl|»lll     (llti    M(Mi#i    •»(    t)N«   HHVlwtll   MflllllltMl  of 

N«fw«y, 


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LKrriM  XII, 


«- 


•    UIW— fMil   ^AfMilHlAI      lUidiM    MAII»ill4m     fH* 

•Afffc*  llf  If A«fl*tM  MHUMIMM  lt»»|Mlt  HAI.i  ^^  ttMM 

Hi  MtfuiiitttMi,  Ami.  «r.  i«|ft 

ilHi  pUumM\m,  with  U«  nM  iwiliH  wiHiiiMjt  NMUifii  nimk 
l)M«  )h  ih««  •mimImnk,  Ii«  miiH^  wiNilimii  (tl^il  wiDi  Huwurft 

M  iNNNtr  ill   Hit   i^fUKVtK^'HlMlV'l   NHI  ¥il>ll  l«   #  AHMIWMI 

liitMMt  itNwflotI  ilrmit  tH  HtVwmNr'ii  it%i,  illii«  UhMM  •((  it     ' 

|lflltl)«  ilUfW  #llMl^lM|t  III  iltrf»>^mtltt  rMlil  f  MfliMtl^  MtMUt* 

HMvHmi  IH  t|ttl*»  rwwt  itt  ttilti'tMNl«ii  wttli^M^li  (rtNvt,  ittttt 

pfmH  VillM  WKN  INNItt   ftttVttttW  «tl«M   **f*f    l|Wit»i|« 
in«h4»h  ttHtAtti  ill  |^r««^  I  ifliM**  liii«\iil  itrtH  «<^*>iInI 

m^h  ltm\  i|t4H»i  III  UttllM  Ml  (ItM   iIhW  llwMlllt  MhII  III  iIm  wli 

Mtlttt,  (M  )tttttlt»tl«4tt«  III  tttittt'ii  Nttdiii  >*KH>»  I^(  MtMtw  il« 
pMN«W  r^tgli  wttl  itttN  Mttti^  rtpir«ittttt4MM(li  tttwfrt^  '• 

¥»  lltti  ^itHllMl*  MrtMxItlll  l(l|IMiMl|«  41  ItlW^Ht,  Wlltl  lltM 

tttii  |*fMt>  wNlfli  t«tiA(«t  ilit«  ahiiiit*  iti  4  r»i^4rM)iti 

I  »ltttttwt  <»M  ywtl  wHtl  I»it4^  >nui»»H»«iii  I  itfittiiNlH  iit  iJMl 


iif  ^ilmiW  mm*  titi  Ttiili  iMvli  l»il^ 


','«- 


■^^  '^»' 


't\m  m  S^^i  iltor-ih»  iliifKiMi  nS^mvinm  iHnnim 
I*  »ti»»lv»tl,-4^  r»Ml,)r  lt|»^|  „r  Mh«Mm»(»h,  iIim  Muff  iil 
Ntr»Hrf  wli^ii*  «iit)^  fii«ii)f  rMiM  I  tNfmv  UNM^  H»  III*  f iiHl 

iMWiil.  Hmnm  iJlifif  Nl  i  MMlfrA  ^skmUm  yt^m^iW^ 
mmmk  i«  ^H  mwf  \im^*  mi  •!«•  m  I  ^M  km  tm 
$$HtHmi'»  ii#»|i.  «wi  (Nil  iMNiiiMirdft  »l  im  iM«r  iMfw  ii«iti«i 
IM  iMrnUh  iUf  imiminHt  j  (h«  tiMmt^  mutthnHHrnh  hti^f 
»#«)'lM|  wNN  IN«  H»U*,  tintkttmA  Into  »^iiMril  mhUm^*  ¥>UU 

•Mi»|iN<  «Mi#i«,  HMiil'Oiii  mI»|  muNMiliitu  4nf»,  wHU  iimif  . 
••IIH>  vIvUtMfi*  imlttttf  mf  m^Hii 

-       |4*t  IM  nMMliiy  \m  iH»m>  v#ry  ^ttl«,    fl#«»ilvi|  Uy  iUk 
mmti  wiW,  »ii»»»l|^  •tiH«)i(Hi'    liiitNi  miiM  Mi4iHl« « niftl^iifi 

l»NN,%,l|MMlHl  llM^^r«i»|  «|||)ri>>     IN   M«MM»  Ml«*.(i|^N«  (Hi 

iiiNi  mT  M«  MHt  tN^M  «>ImwI  >  AN  hmfmfptmf  %\§m9  Im 

«« i<l)«<  l»lH»li  »li*  imM\¥»  Utfm,iimi  hm  ImhtntiH  ^t  mum 
til  IH»AW  N(«  WM^fli  iliit  k  Mimtut  ttt  UitU,  nl  (Nki  ii)itkf  M>ii 

iIminim^  mtUktmh  k  lN«  iNAilf^,    %  M».m»  Miiwk  n 

^4W  MI(*^»r\f»IMf  »N#   l*#Hl»,  Mrlfll  ll    ^»|  lilK^  Miifi   III  »^,H«  I 

No*  tht,  Mnl'i  «|r|>i  rNii  iw  l«*n  m»i  nuMf  Umkit  mi>  immii 
.ltm^4i»  Mm:  4  UMlllMi^  Ai  ^mm,  mm»H  ^  hm«  |#i.|i4 
$¥mHi  MN^#»I  N*  4  llMMWfiwI  ^timiUm$  »  ^>iKP#  Wl»||  |^ri«f> 


2: 


liiiiti  ilimxu  fMll  »lll<»i*  »ImImU»h  iiiwl.iwtwfiwiirK»y^ 


^ 


«v^R5r 


'  f.' 


XKj 


•  .t 


fM04Afi  ii44ilt^4M$f 


in* 


llm  Mhk  I«  jf iNf ii^l  fl<iiirfiii»f ,  « iii  ^  |«fr  Im)»  j  "  lli« 
mmm\  tn  (friN44i  4ml  i«<«(HlfMl  (1^)4,  «v)t*»iit>  lurtHwr  immh   |f 
im  M»^,  ill  (ltt<  i|t)/it  »ii«M  \¥i  am  imhIUi^  Nm'  Hid  ^ii^   ^ 
i>ii^(  Hi » (ifw  NiirriiitiMMtHflJilHi,  hhi)vi4mI  rtiiii  «irtii^  wiM 
¥wt(tAH%  "11i»<  Nm  mHHil  Hii¥»r  »l)|t  HI  Miiitli  Ma  Mi 
NH  #i  ii4ii^M  wfi>i  Hf  r  AN  M^i*  Mkn  Hi  Mmtwh^." 

m$,  nHit  wifitili,  tiHii  ttm^y  (Mitt  \itm\  tif  ilw  biiin  i  Itrnitlt 
--»<lMi|y  MMiliNi  MiImI  ri^tli^  iHiilr  tkm^  lirMtitfM) 
M«lHfr#  Imvm  •unIi  iMr  ^rwiil  liii«fi«  in  lMii»  ^  ^^u  hI 

IN«.  MrilNifff  IlKllll,  m  ||i4#*«  Willi  rfXHli'mi  twiilll  IIH  (fc« 
Mifly  tH#l«MM  (InI  m|imiiii  IwmwKH  Ilif  llMln  A  lltllll  V^ 
m$f  llwt  «l»«WlllM'j^  llltM,     M«««OilH  IhIIhW*  IM'HM*  Ihw  HWI'*, 

l»  li  •  iiiHii.    t(«  iMm  Hit  Imi,  inii  iiiiMi,  uml  ]*m  i  iMt 

M|rN  JH  IrMWl  PM<I  IIh«  imMI',  Ntli«|i<Hi»|  ln(<l  l*li»  MMlllilNill 

f^  *  mmtu  MtiiiiMMikiiiiHi,  im»fiii«(  «i4i»M«i  i|t»«i*>HiitN  Mt«iiti 

rt»*  i||¥»»|#«l  IV4IIIIII  iwHfilly  rt»Mli  m\  ^m$\t>,  AUhim  iIw  _^ 
mif  iiliici  1*1  IHn  »|m4i  m  Umm  *«  (fMi^  iiT  iltl>»(K|  iltl«M«i  IH  ^ 
•t«iiifi«(«  iwtfii^iKi  i4  rul  iNf^fiHiif  INi«  ilnf ,  vntMfpH       ^^ 

MiHilii  Ml  M  Mill  MmHilKI,  Hrlilt^l  |i«  utiilwl  tKll  Nirli  4  '^^  ^ 

♦♦»*»  imm^  rtf  <!♦•»  •t»»t'h»miiii  ^rnm  i^Kljtr  lt»iiti  f#H}i^i«  i 
h4Hk  til  mmw  Oiliti'  hum,  IInii  IimiIi,  m  II«»imimH«  iHf  iIm  M4U 
Willi  iiy»fi  liMi,  iHm  tlm  Mil  im  wMnN  i^miuMh  i^^fitwli 
tmf  Mi  ddfliK*.    I INH  niMiilr  HM«I  Nl  iilHM  'mii¥m  Im  ^WH 

H  MfMini  Mil  m«(ll«>  Nl  dIi^  MlllAHl  WUH  (Kl||l^  I4|  H 

«!||||«,  IIII0  Miff  *  ' 

Awl  tl»M  iiK  iNii)f  wliN  (MvliiilM  iHli  il^Jh#».  l«*H«Hit 

f^^WI  f-  ■■■'iWW|F  IpiV*  HWf  fpl#  WHl||#fHl||  nWWw  ^ll  lw*lt  MB* 

Mwl  MuHNir  f  tlmy  mi}m  hnMni  ImiN^i  n«  iimi  mMit 

iKHfl     IrPPIfHlfl,  fNM  VrtlHP  ItlfliilllHI,     #Hi4  iMVii  HlMllllHllill 

•11  miliK*  tifatiL 


"^ 


Mill   ftMHifiM  III*   ikNU^ill*  |t»i||^  III   |»iiiiM|t|,  imlliit 

llHHt  tMifmH  |M  iIni  ||iNfW|f  hI  a  iMNiyfNii 


^ 


l^> 


a.jiii.aaii.jjlt.\i  «k.         «  M%  (L^    ' 


>  . 


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WM  llMi  U((*|«|iMM  MMTlll  WtHrf  M»»i 

IV 

Itit44im,  mTmhi  MtffilDil  iit##Mi«« 


Ml 


V. 


Mt»  1^  ilM  Ml^v  •W,  >*)•  «ii«^toi|         ' 
Vi 

■li^w  Mai  |tty|b^  1 

l0il/ft  mt>  mtt  mf  ^»4^  i>iiit>thi>h 


^o 


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iM  m0M  0M0M  mu^  1.4  rtwuM 


9^^  WNWP  NMp  IMf  ■tt4  if  JMPMMw 

I  I 

*  ■  — — 


(Xll. 


1^ iMlMl  Iteiu  U  ■■^'-i~~ 

lutiuuiiito  myii 

Am  iNif  ffMml  Utt  mM^  <4»#»4Mf iiii  iJ^MVii  ^mt  h»M»  ki^04, 
Imii^mmit  mm  wmm4<i,  wkMt  Mi*  miift  km4  ttl 


v\ 


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nu,) 


fHM  mMHm0lli  MMtltlHHl 


m 


1  ' 


*,  *w 

^4  til      " 

M4  Mit  #«/  tHiiii  iWi4t,  m\wi\  iiMlf  «M»^i  ^liMMlf^iit  «#«  »i  riNM, 

■IPffffW  fW  Ww  Wff  Pffil  f»ff  IfiVfiV  T        Vf  PPf  VfflNV  *|l|f  fPlfw  fPPIlPfy  iff 

itmtifHiHH  Ml  lkih$  fHM  Urn  iNn*  iMi'i  ><iiiriy«-^ 
fki«  •§  II)  »»i  it*<<ifMiil^i4N«^«  «Mil  HvKif^  M  M  (mi  M  |#  • 
iifKrtutt  IiMimI  IIn»  *^fl  f  WfwMn  ItMgDit  irMh  miMi  M* 
m§  lt^*MiMtmm  mm  Mi  i»liii«  >il»Hf  'fMnllitoti  M*4MM(li(i  §»# 

Mlillly  M  |ifv»,  Um>it  «  Villi*  M  (M»  ^irl^iMl,  M  <?#^0«»Mii| 
#|4N  III*  $ifm*ff  tiAttt*  (ii  wM<f»  0>«  i^#t^  i^fci  Hi  Im4 

TAm  4»4^M/  )M|mM¥»  ii^fH  i|>iiili«  )ii  I'm!  (Mrtkm  Ml  Mi 
^fi  l»«w  ikn  hm  iM  •  4  r'M*i«i  »^Mf>l  M  t ilM^MiM  i4#Miii 
Mi  i«t  Imm  IM»  iMi  m  Mi  Immmi  l«4lMir'i  mm4»m,  mim 
im  jHMNt  t^'**  M««*  »¥lMiMI»,  fMW  M'l^  N-M  Mt  ii» 
^  iwH^  |^l«l  Iw  «!)•  4#»il«  '4 fl«y#«,  iMi  »tl«  Nf  iMi  pmlk\ 
^  •»§»  9»¥»,  "  l>«  l*«<l  MM  i^iMi**  M  VMI«M^  i»f4#>  M/'  iMf 
Mii||^«f¥*rl)'  nim.ijm,  "Mr  ^II^M0My  ^ttyMw*!  Mmnn#«^ 

MMiii  iMiMi  t«^^Ki«ii  |mii  4^m  i/*M4iiM  imm>  Hif 

iil|Mri»M  ^lifiiin^  HIM/  mH  »yMiwt  M  ^mmMMNIb 

Iff' li 


'   Si 


i 


■i  . 


I,  «li4  Im  ^  )^<M  iiltnitff  Kilty  |»y  i^mu^  it\m\\m  U 
l#i  iw  %m:i\m^  ttm  Mm  fMf,  '^  it  I  tmn  wHh  rm  Ut 

fm^jimMwM  •##tf»*'«'i#%-TiMw<  i^jMiim4k$ 


^ 


'nim- 


§k§ 


M^ 


f      -^tK^ 


■■:^' 


• 


%ii\ 


oMff  rMfum'MMUA 


HI 


■m-mk  ^  mm  u*  iMr  tkipit'u*  ^rm  Uh  itml^t,"  A« 
mm  «•  lUil  iknil  Iflf  fi#i#iL^  tM^  imiM  ink*  Oii  iwf 
„^  |MiiMig«,  tUN  mtUfii  HilHi4.m  fl»r««  •Hi««  (mmt  tm 
tlttHt  immii  Mo  ^^M  ifn  iHnl  if)  yM  ^fH  H^mtf 
ml  iM  t^k  kutth  'iiiHh>»mii  «  ^^t^tt  .Umtfi  Unt 

^il«r«  %  w*tUmmui  mmmt,  htt  »H  Uh  nMfM  I'/  iM««  i«|f 

mm  ii^tm0^k^n  im  f^/'  * 

11mm,  ''liiM  tiMWk^iM  «|MiHj 

MM  tlM  •^iHMi  nmi  mmUtM9  H  flit 

UH  MM,  "HlmHi  upHkMf 

rlgM  wf*»#»«»M*.  ut  Hit  f "    H/m  mmmmii  "  l>^«Nif »»»  im 
IIM  rffitMl,  ^'  W«  i^««  iM(  iTriM 

**  mtM  H  ^m"  f¥^i*^»  tim  tim§4  . 


\li^,  wkit^»  Uh  mm§ 


X- 


iji 


LHTrUMM  fltOM  IIWM  LATtTVD&S. 


[xn. 


4 

.7 


WHAm  the  weaponi  of  the  '  /^f  Strftnl^    fttit  who  owm 
Urge  thip*  »n  thf  Urbosrd  iiiik  of  the  lJan«» }  ** 
♦♦TiMii  to  J«H  Krtc  toil  oT/ Hacofi,"  »»y  ih«y. 
TH«  King  Mirc  "/fr  h|^  rtMon  for  imreiing  ut;  w« 
'  •nptvA  hiiril  bh»wii  frahi  th«M  imii  ;  Uwy  are  Notm- 
I-  lUui  nuf^ily  '*  /  t  •  ' 

Thf  i«rM  «Ni4li«t  rifwl  tor  mftny  houm.  It  went  hard 
wtth  th«  "toft  ll«iNW,"  and  hMairout  NwmUm.  M()laf  haii 
Immmn  i  alMr  a  ahtfrt  atrugile  they  utm  amJ  fly,  Ikit 
/•rt  IMt  III  Ma  lafis  Mhlp  tha  •♦  /rm  llmril"  \%  mora  than 
a  maleh  im  flfal'«  lighter  v«m«Iii,  (>n<i  l»y  on«  th«ir  (l«ck« 
«rc  ilf higad  with  IiIimmI,  (iMlr  l»rav«f  ilAC^iidert  wmv^  inlu 
Hm  aM  (  MM  hy  oM  t^y  ar«  eui  adrtft  and  Miit  looaa  «ith 
lhMikl«,  AiidtN»wailaai4M ''/MiirM^"  ttaaaldf  by 
•Wir  with  Iha  "  i^gS^r^ir  ami  H  I*  Indaad  ••  hoi  worh  " 
hofth  m  foracafttli  mid  ^uaruir  «l«£li> 

"  l(liNir  Titfnharaha^var,  »im  dir  th«  Mhar^aai  of  how- 
M#M«  aUNtd  by  iha  niaat,  mmI  ilMt  wiih  hi*  btw."  HIa  ar • 
^m  Mia  lh«  tllhir  aHd.  M  ov«r|b«  IE«H>ltM4,  attd  burlaa 
llaaW  M|i  Ml  ih«  ihMfl  l«  iha  mm^.  ♦•  Wh<i  alwrt  (hat  IwUr' 
••yi  lh«  Jarl  Ait<»th«r  fli«»  h«l«M«ii  hi*  hami  aiul  alda. 
•M  MHtfrt  Iba  aluMkfig  of  ihaaMaf'a  aliMrf.  Than  aahl  ih« 
|iH  m  i  man  namwl  rin.  »  Mhoot  that  tall  ar^itr  by  tb« 
Niaat  f "  rin  ahiNH*  i  th«  n^^mi  hita  fba  mliMla  of  nf^% 
bow  aa  ba  If  III  tba  ««t  «f  4r«i#liig  It,  an4  tb«  bow  la  afilN 
bi»«w,  ,  r  "^ 

''IKlMl  la  ilMi/'  mm  lUfli  (M  '«ibit  Uwbt  wMb 

.     "  ^^JNM.^*',  King,  fmni  rhy  banda  I "  ^  ftbMf. 

"  %u  I  iKii  <N«  n\m\i  a«  lhai,""»ay»  th«  King  y  » iib«  my 
lw»i  ml  abiwd,"  "-ftlnglni  »>w»  bt#w  to  him. 

iNMTfuwIitbibow.awliliiHiitiww  tbt  bMdnf  «b« 
mtm.  "Two  »a«b.  tuo  wm*/' auM  ba,  " te  iba  bow  «f 
iMtibly  lilngC  and  (b#»«wlng  ihWi^m  aadl,  "hi  tMb 


y                        mm4mAhiiil^,m^lmtihtvmm^f'' 

■ 

f-?\:^-^:.:_-: 

■-. ! ■  ■         -r- 

• 

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V  ■  •^.  ^-^sSig  ^79 


W 


Xli.] 


DEAT/i  OF  OLAF. 


=:9 


But  OUfi  hoar  if  come.     Many  slain  lie  around  him  : 
mwiy  that  have  fallen  by  his  hand,  ii^ore  that  have  fallen 
at  his  side.  The  thinned  ranks  on  board  the  "  Iron  Beard'* 
are  Constantl)r  replenished  by  fresh  combatants  from  other 
VMscIs,  even  by  the  Swedes  and  soft  Danes,  now  "  strong, 
upon  the  stronger  side,"— while  Olaf,  cut  off  from  succor, 
atMids  almost  «onc  upon  the  "  Ser/mi's"  deck,  made  slip- 
IKrrjr  by  hif  p^pie's  blood.    The  Jari  had  bid  out  boats 
to  intercept  all  wh^  ifiighl  eacape  from  the  ship  ;  but  es- 
cape IS  not  in  i:m!  King's  thoughis.  ,He  casts  one  look 
around  him,  glances  at  his  sword—broken  like  Einar's 
bow— drawi  a  deep  breath,  and,  holding  hrs  shield  above 
hia  bMd,  spring*  overboard.    A  shoutr-a  rush  J  who  shall 
ftfit  graap  th#t  noble  prisoner  ?    Back,  slaves  I  the  shield 
that  has  brought  him  scathlesM  through  a  hundred  fights 
IMli  yet  shelter  him  from  dinhonor. 

CMintless  hands  are  stretched  to  snatch  him  back  to 
wmthkiM  life,  iNit  the  shidd  alone  floats  on  the  swirl  of 
the  wava  t— King  OLif  hits  sunk  iMsncath^t. 

Parhaps  you  bavu  iilrcaily  had  enfiugh  of  my  Saga  lore  ; 
but  with  that  grey  catltedrrfi  full  in  sight,  I  cannot  but  dedi- 
mM  ■  few  llfMs  to  attothtfr  Olaf,  king  and  warrior  like  the 
\m,  byt  to  whom  alter  times  liave  accorded  a  yet  hisher 

iaint  (llaf'tM-ilalntQiave,  as  we  call  him— early  history 
wtm%  Nttia  4t  the  odor  oi-  san<jW}4iMt  has  rather  that 
"  anelaMt  and  flah4lk«  amell  '^%i^ifi«racterlied  the  do^ 
Ingaol  the  Vlktngs,  Ma  aiicesft|^^t  those  were  days 
whan  boHor  ratlier  t^an  dUgraee  attached  to  the  ideas  of 
^my  aH4t  pItfiHler,  espei  lally  in  an  enemy'ii  couittry ;  It 
«iM  •  '<ap(il|)iig  til  ih»  Kgyptlana  "  aanctiuned  by  custom, 
MMl  Wfnfum^iUnS  by  ih«  Church,  whteh  did  not  disdalii 
mmM\nm\S)f  i<i  ibare  In  the  pttftii^  of  a  »iict;«Hitful  cruisa, 
Wii»w|ireiewt<i4l«i  tba  decem  town  of  silver  candlestkks 


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^  **Mii«  i^hmm)  fit:,  ^)t0»  ^♦»w.>fOHi,  >o«  U<iM#l»»  lihi 
im  hi  iiit^\tk^  mtfim  H>*n^  hi^  A^f  »^f<^<<wf     M*»' 

t#M*ij^  kmtmm  !!#*  /H**  ^*»##  «^»w  tit^)»m  Mmtf  Mm, 
4ti^  mi^unnHittHH  #M  Mi«««  mikt  t0  im  Hh  imm  ^-iifr" 

^.<w«4  iHi*  III  4m9,  hf  ^m^iiiH^  mt^^m    4  N|m| 
m^im>  "  iUt>  mmt^  fmr-  ii$4^4i  ^^h  hr  Mn  Hi 

m*  Mt^n  ^4m ,  im  Mm  *fM  »t^i  ^ihuhb  k<t^if 
fftn  m/ft  in  4  fiff^i  m4  iu^m  ''» ii^i0«f^Mmmtii 

i*w^<^  Hmtn  i^iM^Nm  ii§p0^hi  t4j4im^tl^i  i4  mit^» 
4  immt,  im»m,  mtm  i^  ^%r#  mmit  nitiimmMf 
tiiM  m-4^  ifl  hf»  t^mi  Ih  tkmitimM  wr^  i»  t' 
»m^  U0M  mmm  4iiJth  lf#<i|»<.  §m$  4h4  Himi  imu 
tH^  utimpipt  f^  itf*  #^,M«i<<#<  mni  ^mipm-^mttil 

0im*m  iii^  m^  urn    i  ^  $i^it  Mm  Hmn  ^Mi^i^My 


V>1 


il^il 


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WP  fiHHf'  ttf>  Hf40hWtt  ff0^m 


m 


hmhmtiiH  Hu'lm^t^m  ^Hm  ifU^fi  »i^  ihm  ^j^KW 
n>tiH  Hit  tUu  mUi^t  0hiH ,  H4mg  ttif^mti jU"  hut*  <>*«*^ 

>|fir*»|»  nm,  httiiiH  .owl  hfn  htM  ¥mtHAh  f «  %^i% 

(^«4^  mI(4|4^«M^  tU4l  t#  <lMif%lMO*  ||*«^|fl^MW|  ##l 

lis  l«^  iM  W>mi»/i/ii|,  *l#/*^  lliir  «iW  Mi«<<  '*l  li^itmitmt* 

l»IM>iN«l*»4,  K*  M  «.]»MWl^|,  l/i  1W*'>^WJ^  «W||  /|>te  iS^klil 

Ml)  •<«•»*«  rf««**i<w^»M<,  i'^jw^  III*/'  ^^m.>4  th*i  ktmii*! 

Ihttii44t»  H*in  4($tH'm'hm4t4ii  (li^  t<«#l,-  i$mi9i  til 

*l»  <»i*'»  *>i^H^#i.wJN Mi|i,<««*'  ^mt  m\  lu  H»    ii)i»  tkmk  mt 
tifw  -nm  mim  #te>H  $0^4    n  »fl|  f^h .  ^<«^  ^ W^\  mt^  f4 

iil ,  4tHm*  $mi  nin^m  #lli^f«^*<  ^Ij#  <!#*.*.  m  mt^mm 
h  mf$  «  N»»»<  «<«l%,««.<|fe  »*WV^^  *•-#'!/  'i-ft^ ji^i/i^li*.! 
I**  ^*i*  #^i»iii<#i<  ai#»f  i      .  ■' «  - ;    •" 

*9 


■  J*w  $^mm  ^'ii**M» 


.   m^  ^1  |i.#l#<  ^fmtmfim  mm  ♦<♦**  hintm^  mm 

-ri*i  1^  ll$$mt-^tm^'^n  ^^hM  HXatrnf  immMmmid 
fi-  mii0,  ■'  mHt0iMi  fimm_  turn  fmM^tfi  m 

'mi^iiii mud 'turmm-mMff'  -^Hk. 


<    ^ 


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fm  M  hm  mi  0^^  m  ^mfumrmm^ 

j^  M,  m\  iimi^i  H  mmi^i^  minim  Mmt 

m>  m  4t0m  H^  in  umt>  4mt>  m  th.  i#«  #*«##  in 

ffff"  fjHt'  '  '*»«^  ##f  m  «*/  Hi  Hm»,  mi  mi4>. 
'"***  ^^Wl*^* ■  •'HM  III  tH*'  ^mHim^ft  ^^^  ^00^,  ^^i, 

Mm  «:■  ''''^^^S-  *  <^*^,  *<'/<^<  Wi<<^  mht)  M<  /^«y^  ^>^ff  ^p, 

.  >'iW|Wt^  l<i»^<iW  f*<^iM,    4  0t04t  mm  mti  ift  $tmit 

nm»^$m^^  h  iw  /  Urn  i  lUh^  hh  int  it  4m  if^i  hm 
4mimw  im*ji}  ^nkm  piigU^^  kmim  tm  m  l4 

hi^mm  m  I  ml  mi  ft^Tjrim-ia^k.  Hip  hfftihtf4  mi 

urn  iht*4ti  iBiiu  im  (i#M<M  *f4  Ni  fmmr  mum  i^f 

l9  $UH  liH*  #imf  ■* 

.     fb  Pmi  Mm*¥H  0m4it  mwm    h  it  m  in  kti 

4mimi  iitm  fitu  »m  nuH  Mm'-k0t'k/' 

mm,  ituti-  f0m»  i^^  ik-  i$tlt4  i^n  i4  ^>*  kHm^,-4 

>'i$fm  mmi^iftht  ih^  1^^110^  W  n>n^it  HmtfSit  ' 
mmittmtiiff 

'^ht^  0«  0H:  ^  t^t  ^  iLtf^,!^  'mmmf0 

mm*  0*;mif^  »*  ^*  muf*  mmm  Ir  /^#  |r  ^  /iff 

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mm/mm  i.  w,  Mi4,im  m,    %,^J,  ,74^ 


*km§»k-m  mmti  i 

m  ^  :  ,mkii 

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Sciences 
Cbippration 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


'^ 


252 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  f.A  TITUDES. 


[XII. 


commence  it  with  a  slight  cough,  continue  with  a' gurgling 
in  the  throat,  and  finish- with  the  first  convulsive  movement 
of  a  sneeze,  imparting  to  the  whole  operation  a  delicate 
nasal  twang.  If  the  result  is  not  something  approaching 
to  the  sound  required,  you  must  relinquish  "all  hope  of 
achieving  it,  as  I  did.  Luckily,  my  business  was  to  dance, 
and  not  to  apostrophize  the  lady  ;  and  accordingly,  when 
the  waltz  struck  up,  I  hastened  to  claim,  in  the  dumbest 
show,  the  honor  of  her  hand.  Although  my  dancing  qual- 
ifications have  rather  rusted  during  the  last  two  or  three 
years,  I  remembered  that  the  time  was  not  so  very  far  distant 

when  even  the  fair  Mad*"«-  B had  graciously  pronounced 

me  to  be  a  very  tolerable  waltzer,  "for  an  Englishman," 
and  I  led  my  partner  to  the  circle  afready  formed  with  the 
"  air  capable"  which  the  object  of  such  praise  is  entitled  to 
assume.     There  was  a  certain-  languid  rhythm  in  the  air 
they  were  playing  which  rather  offended  my  ears,  but  I 
suspected  nothing  until,  observing  the  few  couples  who  had 
already  descended  into  the  arena,  I  became  aware  that 
they  were  twirling  about  with  all  the  antiquated  grace  of 
"/rt  vals:  h  trots  temps r     Of  course  my  partner  would  be  no 
exception  to  the  general  rule !    nobody  had  ever  danced 
anything  else  at  Throndhjem  from  the  days  of  Odin  down- 
wards ;  and  I  had  never  so  much  as  attempted  it.  JW^hat 
was  to  be  done  ?     I  could  not  expiam  the  state  of  the  case 
to  Madame  HghelghghagUaghem  :  she  could  not  understand 
English,  nor  I  speak  Norse.     My  brain  reeled  with  anxiety 
to  find  some  solution  of  the  difficulty,  or  some  excuse  for 
rushing  from  her  presence.     What  if  I  were  taken  with  a 
sudden  bleeding  at  the  nose,  or  had  an  apopletic  fit^on  the 
spot?     Either  case  would   necessitate   my  bei^  carried 
decently  out,  and  consigned  to  oblivion,  which  would  have 
been  a  comfort,  under  the  circumstances.    There  was  noth- 
ing for  It  but  the  courage  of  despair  ;  so,  casting  reflection 
to  xyo.  winds,  and  my  arm  round  her  waist,  I  suddenly 


\^ 


^ 


XII.] 


ODIN  AND  HIS  PALADINS. 


253 


whisked  her  off  her  legs,  and  dashed  madly  down  the  room. 
|\^  "a  deux  tempsr     At  the  first  perception  that  something 

unusual  was  going  on,  she  gave  such  an  eldritch  scream, 
that  the  whole  society  suddenly  came  to  a  standstill.  I 
thought  it  best  to  assume  an  aspect  of  innocent  composure 
and  conscious  rectitude  ;  which  had  its  effect,  for  though 
the  lady  began  with  a  certaii^jdegree  of  hysterical  anima- 
tion to  efescribe  her  wrongs,  she  finished  with  a  hearty " 
laugh,  in  which  the  company  cordially  joined,  and  I  deli- 
cately chimed- in.  For  the  rest  of  the  dance  she  seemed 
to  resign  herself  to  her  fate,  and  floated  through  space, 
under  my  guidance,  with  all  the  abandon  of  Francesca  di 
Rimini,  in  Scheffer's  famous  picture. 

The  Crown  Prince  is  a  tall,  fine-looking  person  :  he  was 
very  gracious,  and  asked  many  questions  about  my  voyage. 
At  night  there  was  a  general  illumination,  to  which  the 
^^  Foam^'  contributed  some  blue  lights. 

We  got  under  way  early  this  .morning,  and  without  a 
pilot — as  we  had  entered— made  our  way  out  to  sea  again. 
I  left  Throndhjem  with  regret,  not  for  its  own  sake,  for  in 
spite  of  balls  and  illuminations  I  should  think  the  pleasures 
of  a  stay  there  would  not  be  deliriously  ^jcclting ;  bu|  this 
whole  district  is  so  intimately  associated'ih  my  i^ind  with 
all  the  brilliant  episodes  of  ancient  Norwegian  History, 
that  I  feel  as  if  I  were  taking  leave  of  all  those  noble 
Haralds,  and  Olafs,  and  Hacons,  among  whom  1  have 
been  living  in  such  pleasant  intimacy  for  some  time  past. 

While  we  are  dropping  down  the  coast,  I  may  as  well 
employ  the  time  in  giving  you  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  com- 
mencement of  this  fine  Norse  people,  though  the  story 
"  remontejusgu'a  la  miit  des  temps,"  and  has  something  of 
the  Vague  magnificence  of  your  own  M'Donnell  genealogy, 
ending  a  long  list  of  great  potentates,  with  "  somebody, 
who  was  the  son  of  somebody  else,  who  was  the  son  of 
Scotha,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh !  "  • 


'T?: 


254 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 


[XII. 


./^ 


In  by-gone  ages,  beyond  the  Scythian  plains  and  the 
fens  of  the  Tanais,  in  that  land  of  the  morning,  to  which 
neither  Grecian  letters  nor  Roman  arms  had  ever  pene-, 
trated,  there  was  a  great  city  called  Asgaard.  Of  its  founder, 
of  its  history,  we  know  nothing  ;  but,  looming  through  the 
mists  of  antiquity,  Nve  can 'discern  an  heroic  figure,  whose 
superior  attainments  won  for  hifn  the  lordship  of  his  own 
generation,  and  divine  honors  from  those  that  s»*;ceeaed. 
Whether  moved  by  an  irresistible  impulse,'  or  impelled  by 
more  poweiful  neighbors,  it  is  impossible  to  s'ay ;  but 
certain  it  is  that  at  some  period,  not  perhaps  very  long 
before  the  Christian  era,  un^er  the  guidance  of  this  per- 
sonage, a  sun-nurtyred  people  moved  acfoss  the  face  of 
Europe,  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  and  after  leaving 
settlements  along  the  southern  shores  of  the  Baltic,  finally 
established  themselves  in  the  forests  ahd  valleys  of  what 
has  ccyne  to  be  called  the  Scandinavian  Peninsula.  Th^t 
children  of  the  South  should  have  soMjkt  out  so  inclement 
a  habitation  may  excite  surpri^  J^Bpit  must  always  be 
remembered  that  they  were,  probabtyTS^mparatively  scanty 
congregation,  and  that\he  unoccupied  valleys  of  Norway 
an^  Sweden,  teeming  with  fish  cind  game,  and  rich  in  iron, 
were  a  preferable  regjon  to  lands  only  to  be  colonised 
after  the^'  had  been  conquered.  "• 

Thus,  under  the  leadership  of  Odin  and  his  twelve  Paja- 
dins,-Thto  whom  a  graieful  posterity  afterwards  conceded 
thrones  in  the  halls  of  their  chief's  Valhalla, — the  new 
emigrants  spread  themselves  along  the  margin  of  the  out- 
ocean,  and  ronnd  about  the  gloomy  fiords,  and  up  and 
down  th6  deep  valleys  th  it  fall  away  at  right  angles  from 
the  backbone,  or  keel,  as  the  seafaring  population  soon 
learnt  to  call  the  flat,  snow-capped  ridge  that  runs  down 
the  centre  of  Norway.  , 

Amid  the  rude  but  not^ungenial  influences  of  its  bracing 
climate,  was  gradually  fostered  that  gallaiU  race  which  was 


•r 


'f*^ 


« 


XII.] 


THE  BONDERS. 


255 


destined  to  givi  an  imperial  dynasty  to  Russia,  a  nobility 
to  England,  the  conquerors  to  every  sea-board  in  Europe. 

Upon  the'occupition  of  their  new  home,  the  ascendency 
of  that  mysterious  hero,  under  whose  attSpices  the  settlement 
was  conducted,  appears  to  have  remained  more  firmly  estab- 
lished than  ever,  not  only  over  the  mass  of  the  people,  but 
also  over  the  twelve  surbordinate  chiefs  who  accompanied 
him  ;  there  never  seems  to  have  been  the  slightest  attempt 
to  question  his  authority,  and,  though  afterwards  themselves 
elevated  into  an  order  of  celestial  beings,  every  tradition 
which  has  descended  is  careful  to  maintain  his  human  and 
divine  supremacy.     Through  the  obscurity,  .the  exaggera- 
tion, and  the  ridiculous  fables,  with  which  Ijiis  real  existence 
has  been  overloaded,  we  can  still  see  that  this  man  evidently 
possesse||  a  genius  as  superior  to  his  contemporaries,  as 
has  ever  given  to  any  child  of  man  the  ascendency  over  his 
generation.     In  the  simple  language  of  the  old  chronicler, 
we  are  told,  "  that  his  countenance  was  so  beautiful  that 
when  sitting  among  his  friends,  the  spirits  of  all  were  ex- 
hilarated by  it;*tirat  when  he  spoke,  all  were  persuaded  \. 
that  when  he  went  forth  to  meet  his  enemies,  none  could 
withstand  hull."     Though  subsequently  made  a  god  by  the 
superstitious  people  he  had  benefitted,  his  death  seems  to 
have  been  noble  and  religious.     H6  summoned  his  friends 
around  his  pillow,  intimated  a  belief  in  the  immortality  of  his 
soul,  and  his  hope  that  hereafter  they  should  meet  again 
m  Paradise.     "  Then,"  we  are  told,  "  began  the  belief  in 
Odin,  and  their  calling  upon  him."  , 

On  the  settlement  of  the  country,  the  land  viis  divided 
and  subdivided  into  lots— some  as  small  as  fifty  acres— and  , 
each  proprietor  held  his  share — as  their  descendants  dq  to 
this  day— by  udal  right ;  that  is,  not  as  a  fief  of  the  Crown, 
or  of  any  superior  lord,  but  in  absolute,  inalienable  posses- 
sion, by  the  same  udal  right  as  the  kings  wore  their  crowns,  • 
to  be  transmitted,  under  the  same  title,  to  their  descendants 
unto  all  generations. 


'«; 


h-k 


,t#-. 


ss^ii 


»A*«1-J  iii^^  ilh^ 


r  r- 


256  LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LA TITUDES. 


\yi\w' 


These  landed  proprietors  were  called  the  Bonded,  and 
formed  the  chief  strength  of  the  realm.  It  was  they,  their 
friends  and  servants,  or  thralls,  who  constituted  the  a^my. 
Without  their  consent  the  king  could  do  nothing.  On 
stated  occasions  they  met  together,  in  solemn  assembly,  or 
Thing,  (/>.  Parliament,)  as  it  was  called,  for  the  transaction 
of  public  business,  the  administration  of  justice,  the  allot- 
ment of  the  scatt,  or  taxes. 

Without  a  solemn  induction  at  the  Ore  or  Great  Thing, 
even  the  most  legitimately-descended  sovereign  could  not 
mount  the  throne,  and  to  that  august  assembly  an  appeal 
might  ever  lie  against  his  authority. 

To  these  Things,  and  to  the  Norse  invasion  that  im^ 
planted  them,  and  not  to  the  Wittenagemotts  of  the  Latin- 
ized Saxons,  must  be  referred  the  existence  of  those  Parlia- 
ments which  are  the  boast  of  Englishmen. 

Noiselessly  and  gradually  did  a  belief  in  liberty,  and  an 
unconquerable  love  of  independence,  grow  up  among  that 
simple  people.     No  feudal  despots  oppressed  the  unpro- 
tected, for  all  were  noble  and  udal  born  ;  no  standing  armies 
enab^d  the  Crown  to  set  popular  opinion  at  defiance,  for 
the  swords  of  the  Bonders  sufficed  to  guard  the  realm  ;  no 
military  barons  usurped  an  illegitimate" authority,  for  the 
nature  of  the  soil  forbade  the  erection  of  feudal  fortresses. 
Over  the  rest  of  Europe  despotism  rose  up  rank  under  the 
tutelage  of  a  corrupt  religion  ;  while,  year  after  yeir,  amid 
the  savage  scenery  of  its  Scandinavian  nursery,  that  great 
race  was  maturing  whose  genial  heartiness  was  destined  to 
invigorate  the  sickly  civilization  of  the  Saxon  with  inex- 
haustible energy,  and  preserve  to  the  world,  even  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  onejglorious  example  of  a  free  European 
people. 


,;jifcfc-. 


LETTER  Xlir. 


COPENHAGEN— BERGEN— THE   BLACK  DEATH— SIGURDR— 
'  HOMEWARDS. 

Copenhagen,  Sept.  12th,  1856. 
Our  adventifes  since  the  date  of  my  last  letter  have  not 
been  of  an  exciting  character.  We  had  fine  weather  and 
prosperous  winds  down  the  coast,  and  stayed  a  day  at 
Christiansund,  and  another  at  Bergen.  But  though  the 
novelty  of  the  cruise  had  ceased  since  our  arrival  in  lower 
latitudes,  there  was  always  a  certain  raciness  and  oddity  in 
the  incidents  of  our  coasting  voyage  •  such  as— waking  in 
the  morning,  and  finding  the  schooner  brought  up  under 
the  lee  of  a  wooden  house,  or— riding  out  a  foul  wind  with 
your  hawser  rove  through  art  iron  ring  in  the  sheer  side  of 
a  mountain,— which  took  from  the  comparative  flatness  of 
daily  life  on  board. 

Perhaps  the  queerest  incident  was  a  visit  paid  us  at 
Christiansund.  As  I  was  walking  the  deck  1  saw  a  boat 
conryng  off,  with  a  gentleman  on  board  ;  she  was  soon 
along-side  the  schooner,  and  As  I  was  gazing  down  on  this 
individual,  and  wondering  what  he  wanted,  I  saw  him  sud- 
denly lift  his  feet  lightly  over  the  gunwale  and  plunge  them 
into  the  water,  boots  and  all.  After  cooling  his  heels  in 
this -way  for  a  minute  or  so,  he  laid  hold  of  the.  side  ropes 
and  gracefully  swung  himself  on  deck.  Upon  this,  Sigurdr, 
who  always  acted  interpreter  on  such  occasions,  advanced 
towards  him^  and  a  colloquy  followed,  which  terminated 
rather  abruptly  in  Sigurdr  walking  aft,  and  the  web-footed 

17  »S7 


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T!S8  LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES.         [XIII. 

stranger  ducking  clown  into  his  boat  again.  It  was  not  till 
jome  hours  later  that  the  indignant  Sigurdr  explained  the 
meaning  of  the  visit.  Although  not  a  naval  character,  this 
gentleman  certainly  came  into  the:  categ<>fy  of  men  "  who 
do  business  in  great  waters,"  his  ^«j/>i<rjj  being  to  hegotiate  , 
a  loan  ;  in  short,  to  ask  me  to  lend  him  ;^ioo.  There 
must  have  been  something  very  innocent  and  confiding  in 
"  the  cut  pf  our  jib  "  to  encourage  his  boardjng  us, on  such 
an  errand  ;  or  perhaps  it  was  the  old  marauding,  toll-taking 
spirit  coming  out  strong  in  him  :  the  politer  influences  of 
the  nineteenth  century  toning  down  the  ancient  Viking  into 
a  sort  of  a  cross  between  'Paul  Jones  and  Jeremy  Diddlef.  ' 
The  seas  which  his  ancestors  once  swept  with  their  galleys, 
he  now  sweeps  with  his  telescope,  and  with  as  keen  an  eye 
to  the  main  chance  as  any  of  his  predecessors  displayed. 
The  feet-washing  ceremolw  was  evidently  a  propitiatory 
homage  to  the  purity  of  irlT quarter-deck. 

Bergen,  with  its  pale-faced  houses  grouped  on  the  brink 
of  the  fiord,  like  invalids  at  a  German  Spa,  though  pic- 
tyresque  in  its  way,  with  a  cathedral  of  its  own,  and  plenty 
of  churches,  looked  rather  tame  and4||^ritless  after  the 
warmer  coloring  of  Throndhjem  ;  moreover  it  wanted  nov- 
ehy  to  me,  as  I  called  in  there  two  years  ago  on  my  return 
from  the  Baltic.  It  was  on  that  occasion  that  I  became  - 
possessed  of  my  everrtp-be-lamented  infant  walrus. 

No  one,  personally  unacquainted  with  that  "most  deli- 
cate monster,"  can  have  any  idea  of  his  attaching  qualities. 
I  own  that  his  figure  was  not  strictly  symmetrical ;  that  he 
had  a  roll  in  his  gait,  suggestive  of  heavy  seas  ;  that  he 
would  not  have  looked  well  in  your  boudoir  :  ^ut  he  never 
seemed  out  of  place  on  my  quarter-deck, -an<l  every  man  on 
board  loved  him  as  a  brother.  With  what  a  languid  grace 
he  would  wallow  and  roll  in  the  water,  when  we  chucked 
him  'overboard  ;  and  paddle  and  splash,  and  make  himself 
thoroughly  cool  and  comfortable,  and  then  coroe  and  "  b^ 


.""fsu- 


! 


THE  IIMLRUS. 


259 


to  be  taken  up,"  litce  a  fat  baby,  and  allow  the  rope  to  be 
slipped  round  his  extensive  waist,  and  come  up — sleek  and 
tU-ipping — among  us  again  with  a  cc|i«ented  grunt,  as  much 
as  to  say,  "Well,  after  all,  there's  no  place  like  home/" 
How  he  would  compose  himself  to  placid  slumber  in  every 
possible  inconvenient  place,  with  his  head  on  the  binnacle 
(especially  when  careful  steering  was  a  matter  of  momec^t), 
or  across  the  companion  entrance,  or  the  cabin  skyflglit,  or 
on  the  shaggy  back  of  "  Sailor,"  the  Newfoundland,  who 
positively  abhorred  him.  But  how  touching  it  was  to  see 
him  waddle  up  and  down  the  deck  after  Mr.  Wyse,  whom 
he  evidently  regarded  in  a  maternal  point  of  view — begging 
for  milk  with  the  most  expressive  snorts  and  grunts,  and 
embarrassing  my  good-natured  master  by  demonstrative 
appeals  to  his  fostering  offiq^ !     ^ 

I  shall  never  forget  Mr.  Wyse's  countenance  that  day 
in  Ullapool  Bay,  when  he  tried  to  command  his  feelings 
sufficiently  to  acquaiivt  me  with  the  creature's  death,  which 

he  announced  in"  this  graphic  sentence,  "  Ah,  my  Lord  ! 

the  poor  thing  ! — iocs  up  at  last!  "  «a 

Bergen  is  not  as  neat  and  orderly  in  its  a^iteCtural 
arrangements  as  Dronlheim  ;  a  great  paft  of  the  city  is  a 
confused  network  of  ifarrow  streets  and  alleys,  much  resem- 
bling, I  should  think,  its  early  inconveniences,  in  the  days 
of  Olaf  Kyrre.  This  close  and  stifling  system  of  street 
building  must  have  ensured  fatal  odds  against  the  chances 
of  life  in  some  of  those  world-devastating  plagues  that 
characterize  past  ages.  Bergen  was,  in  fact,  nearly  depopu- 
lated by  t^at  terrible  pestilence  which,  in  1349,  ravaged  the 
North  of  Europe,  and  whose  memory  is  still  preserved  un- 
der the  name  of  "  The  Black  Death." 

'   I  have  been  tempted  to  enclose  you  a  sort  of  ballad,  ; 
which  was  composed  while  looking  on  the  very  scene  of 
this  disastrous  event ;  ats  only  merit  consists  in  its  local  in- 
spiration, and  in  its  conveying  a  true  relation  of  the  man- 
ner ia  which  the  plague  entered  the  doomed  city. 


I 


^''IK 


360 


LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES. 
THE  llLACK  DEATH  OF  BERGEJf. 


[XIII.. 


What  can  ail  the  Bergen  Burghers 

That  they  leave  their  ptoups  of  wiiie  ? », 
Flinging  up  the  hill  like  jiigers. 

At  the  hour  they're  wont  to  dme  ! 
See,  the  shifting  groups  are  fringing 

Rock  and  ridgc  with  gay  attire,     ' 
Bright  as  Northern  streamers  tiifging 

Peak  and  crag  with  fitful  fire  ! 

II. 

Toward^  the  cliff  their  steps  are  bending, 

Westward  turns  their  eager  gaze. 
Whence  a  stitely  ship  ascending. 

Slowly  cleaves  the  golden  haze. 
Landward  floats  the  apparitijJn-^  ' 

"  Is  it,  can  it  be  the  same  }  '♦' 
Frantic  cries  of  recognition 

ShMt  a  16i>g-lost  vessel's  name  ! 

Ill-       ;:  "'.  ,.  "" : 
Years  ago  had  she  departed—  »     ' 

Castled  poop  and  gilded  stern  ; 
Weeping  women,  broken-hearted, 

Long  had  waited  her  ret«rn. 
When  the  midnight  sun  wheeled  downwards, 

But  to  kiss  the  ocean's  verge — 
When  the  noonday  suW,  a  moment 

Peeped  above  the  Wintry  surge, 


^ 


IV. 


Childless  mothers,  orphaned  daughters,      1 ' 

9_ 

> 

From  the  seaward-facing  crag. 

Vainly  searched  the  vacant  waters 

i 

For  that  unretuming  flag  ! 

0    Bi^t,  suspense  and  tears  are  ended, 
Lo !  it  floats  upon  the  breeze  !        ' 

•  Ne'er  from  eager  hearts  ascended 
Thankful  prayers  as  warm  as  these 

• 

«^-  "il^  ■ 

#  •                             ,• 

\ 

* 

. 

)                                            -. 

/■        ■                        •        .- 

' 

..-^■■f-l....-...— ..y. -..^-1 

w  ■  ■      ■     '  ■    ■ 

w 

^,       'jJSUJS    • 

xm.] 


THE  BLACK  DEATH. 


261 


V, 


^ 


See  the  good  ship  proudly  rounding 

That  last  point  that  blocks  the  view  ; 
"  Strange  !  no  answering  cheer  resounding 

From  the  long  home-parted  cre\ll' ! " 
Past  the  harbor's  stony  gateway, 

Onwards  borne  by  sucking  tides, 
Tho'  the  light  wind  faileth— straightway 

Into  port  she  safely  glides. 


I  VI. 

Swift,  as  by  good  angels  carried,  '> 

Right  and  left  the  news  has  spread,  v 

Wives  long  widowed— yet  scarce  married- 
Brides  that  never  hoped  to  wed. 

From  a  hundred  pathways  meeting 
Crowd  along  the  narrow  quay, 

Maddened  by  the  hope  of  meeting 
Those  long  counted  cast  away. 

VII. 

Soon  a  crowd  of  small  boats  flutter 

O'er  the  intervening  space, 
B^^[  hearts  too  full  to  utter 

^•Sights  that  flush  the  eager  face  ! 
See  young  Eric  foremost  gaining— 

(For  a  father's  love  athirst !) 
Every  nerve  and  muscle  straining, 

But  to  touch  the  dear  hand/rj/. 


• 


1  '  •    VIII. 

In  tl^  ship's  green  shadow  rocking 

Lies  his  little  boat  at  last : 
V  Wherefore  is  the  warm  heart  knocking 

At  his  side,  so  loud  and  fast  .> 
"  What  strange  aspect  is  she  wearing, 

Ves^eLonce  so  taut  and  trim  1 
Shout !— Myr  heart  has  lost  its  daring  ; 

Comrades,  searck !— f/y*  eyes  are  dim. 


IT- 


\ 


^f.i*(>afA'l>^>)tu.a/;j 


'  *'A^^f^T% 


362 


•^r.;/ 


■s 


L£  TTEHS  FROM  HIGH  L4  TITUDES.        [XIII. 


A 


IX.. 


Sid  the  search,  and  fearful  finding  1 

On  the  deck  lay  parched  and  dry 
Men — who  in  some  burning,  blinding   ' 

Clinve^had  laid  tl^m  down  to  die ! 
Hands— prayer-clenched-^that. would  not  sever, 

Eyes  that  stared  agsinat  the  suiy 
Sighs  that  h^unt  the  souN^r  ever. 

Poisoning  life— till  life  is  done  ! 


X. 

■       ^        j  .  . 

Strength  from  feai'  doth  Eric  gather, 

Wide'the  cabin  door  he  threw — 
Lo !  the  face  of  his  dead,  father,    » 

Stern  and  still,  confronts  his  view  ! 
Stately  as  in  life  he  bore  him. 

Seated — motionless  and  grand ; 
On  the  blotted  page  before  him 

Lingers  stilLflie  livid  hand  I 


J 


XI.  ? 

What  sad  entry  was  he  making, 

When  the  death-stroke  fell  at  last  ? 
"  I»  it  then  GodVwill,  in  taking 

All,-  that  I  am  left  the  last  ? 
I  have  closed  the  cabin  doorway, 

That  I  may  not  see  them.die:-^^  ,-;, 
Would  our  bohes^might  rest  in*Norway,- 

'Neath  our  own  cool  Northern  sky !  " 


*  XII. 

Thenihe  ghastly  log-book  told  them 

How— in  some  accursed  clime, 
Where  th*  breathless  land-swell  rolled  them, 

For  an  endless  age  of  time- 
Sudden  broke  the  plague  among  them, 

'Neath  that  sullen  Tropic  sun ;  '' 

As  if  fiery  scorpions  stung  them— 

Died  they  raving,  one  by  one ! 


/ 


%.-" 


...' 


■•■  \ 


:III. 


XIII.]  "    TfiE  BLACK  'DEATlf. 


263   ^ 


/ 


xm.  c 
^  -     '       -Told  ^e  vain  and  painful  striving, 

By<hot-weighted  shrmids  to>ide 
.      (Last  fond  care),  from  those  surviving, 
N  ^  WHt  good  comrade  last  haddied ; 

^    ^^^  "'^  gha.^  thi|igs"kept  showing, 
WaisTdeep  in  th«  unquiet  grave— 
-V  --.r..     To  ejj^},  o'jijg^  gravely  bowing        ?.    ..  * 

,    "^^  On  the  slow  swiqjH'f  the  wave  I 

x*v. 

(Eric's  boat  is^near  the  la'nding — 

'^'^9^  that  dark  ship  bring  they  aught  ? 
^nthe  stern  sheets  w<r  is  standing, 
\  Though  their  eyes  perceive  him  not ; 
"•         ^V^*  curdling  horrot,creepeth 

^Thro'  their  veins,  with  icy  darts, 
Andf  eaeh  h^ried  oar-stroke  keepeth  •■ 
-    Time  Wlth.£h€ir  o'er-laboring  hearts  I 

Heavy  seems  their  boat  returning, 

Weighed  with  a  world  of  care! 
Oh,  ye  blind  ones — none  discerning 

ff%j/ the  spectral  freig^*^  bear.       ' 
Glad  they  hear  the  sea-beagh  grating 
,    Harsh  beneath  the  small  boat's  stem- 
Forth  they  leap,  for  no  man  waiting— 
But  the  Black  Death  lands  with  them.  «' 

'    Viewless-Boundless— slalks  the  spectre 
Thro' the  city  chHJ  and  paTe, 
Which  like  bride,  this  morn,  had  decked  her 
For  the' advent  of  that  sail. 
\  Oft  by  Bergen  women,  mourning,  ^  ' 

/     Shall  the  dismal  tale  be  told. 
Of  that  Iqst  ship  ha«ie  returning,*, 
With  "  The  Black  Death  "  in  her  ho'ld  I 

I  would  gladly  dw^  on  the  pleasures  oi  my  second 
visit  to  Christiansund,  which  has  a  charm  of  ks  own,  inde- 


V  ■ 


'i^ 


a-* 


^ 


■■'??''■ 


',i^. 


/  264  LETTiRS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TITUDES.        [XIH. 

pendent  of  its  interest  as  the  spot  from  whence  we  really 
"  start  for  home."  But  though  strange  land^,  and  unknown 
or  indifferent  people,  are  legitimate  subjects  for  travellers' 
tales,  our  friends  and  their  pleasant  homes  are  not;  so  I 
shall  Keep  all  I  have  to  say  of  gratitude  to  our  excellent 
and  hospitable  Consul,  Mr.  Morch,  andiof  admiration  for 
^  his  charming  wife,  until  I  can  tell  you  vVbd.  voce  how  much 
I  wished  that  you  also  knew  them. 

And  now  though  fairly  off  from  Norway,  and  on  our 

'  homeward  way,  it  was  a  tedious  business— what  with  fogs, 

.calms,  and  headwinds— wdrking  towards  Copenhagen.  We 

rounded  the  Scaw  in  a  thick  mist,  saw  the  remains  of  four 

'■'^  ships  that  had  run  aground  upon  it,  and  were  nearly  run 

into  ourselves  by  a  clumsy  merchantman,  whom  we  had 

-4he  relief  of  being  able  to  abuse  in  our  native  vernacular, 

and  the  most  racy  sea-slang. 

Those  five  last  days  were  certainly  the  only  tedious 
periods  of  the  whole  cruise.  I  suppose  there  is  something 
magnetic  in  the  soil  of  one's  own  country,  which  may  ac- 
count for  that  impatient  desire  to  see  it  again,  which  al- 
ways grows,  as  the  distance  from  it  diminishes  ;  if  so,  Lon- 
don clay,— and  its  superstratum  of  foul,  greasy,  gas-dis- 
colored mud— began  about  this  time  to  exercise  a  tender 
'  influence  upon  me,  which  has  been  increasing  every  hour 
since^t  is  just  possible  that  the  thoughts  of  seeing  you 
again  may  have  some  share  in  the  matter. 

Somebody  (I  think  Fuller)  says  somewhere,  that  "every 
one  with  whom  you  converse',  and  every  place  wherein  you 
tarry  awhile,  giveth  somewhat  to , you,  and  taketh  somewhat 
away,  either  for  evil  or  forgpod;"  a  startling  considera- 
tion for  circumnavigators,  and  such  like  restless  spirits; 
b«l  a  comfortable  thought,'in  some  respects,  for  voyagers 
,  to  Polar  regions,  as  (except  seals  and  bears)  few  things 
'  could  suffer  evil  from  us  there  ;  though  for  our  own  parts, 
there  were  solemn  and  wholesome  influences  enough  "  to 


'.ib.j»X>Aw^'>»fef*»^;i^i^ 


t/ 


4. 

.  V*  i 


XIII.] 


SIGURDR. 


265 


be  taken  away"  from  those  icy  solitudes,  if  one  were  but 
ready  and  willing  to  "  stow  "  them. 

To-morrow  I  leave  Copenhagen,  and  my  good  Sigurdr, 
whose  companionship  has  been  a  constant  source  of  en- 
joyment, both  to  Fitz  and  myself,  during  the  whole  voyage ; 
I  trust  that  r  leave  witlfc  him  a  friendly  remembrance  qf 
our  too  short  qfiexion,  and  pleasant   thoughts  of  the 
strange  places  anT  things  we  have  seen  together ;  as  I 
take  away  with  me  a  most  affectionate  memory  of  his  frank 
and  kindly  nature,  his  ready  sympathy,  and  his  impertur- 
bable good  humor.     From  the  day  on  which  I    shipped 
hun— an  entire  stranger— until  this  eve  of  our  separation 
—as  friends,  through  scenes  of  occasional  discomfort,  and 
circumstances  which  might  sometimes  have  tried  both  tem- 
per and  spirits— shut  up  as  we  were  for  four  months.in  Ihi^ 
necessarily  close  communion  of  life  on  board  a  vessel  of 
eighty  tons,— fhere  has  never  been  the  shadow  of  a  cloud 
between  us;  henceforth,  the  words  "an  Icelander"  can 
convey  no  cold  or  ungenial  associations  to  my  ears,  and 
however  much  my  imagination  has  hitherto  delighted  in 
the  past  history  of  that  singular  island,  its.  Present  will 
always  claim  a  deeper  and  warmer  interest  from  me,  for 
Sigurdr's  sake. 

To-morrow  Fitz  and  I  start  for  Hamburg,  and  very 
soon  after— at  least  as  soon  as  railrgad  and  steamer  can 
bring  me— I  look  for  the  joy  of  seeing  your  face  again. 

By  the"  time  this  reaches  Portsmouth,  the  *'  Foam  "  will 
have  performed  a  voyage  of  six  thousand  miles. 

I  have  had  a  most  happy  time  of  it,  but  I  fear  my  amuse- 
ment will  have  cost  you  many  a  weary  hour  of  anxiety  and 
suspense. 


266  LETTERS  FROM  HIGH  LATITUDES.        [XIII. 


TO   THE 


FIGURE-HEAD  OF   "THE   FOAM." 


Calm  sculptured  image  of  as  sweet  a  face 
As  ever  lighted  up  an  English  home, — 

Whose  mute  companionship  has  deigned  to  grace 
Our  wanderings  o'er  a  thousand  leagues  of  foam, — 


II. 


Our  progress  was  your  triumph  duly  hailed 
By  ocean's  inmates ;  herald  dolphins  played 

Before  our  stem,  tall  ships  that  sunward  sailed 
With  stately  curtseys  due  obeisance  paid. 


III. 


Fair  Fortune's  fairer  harbinger !  you  smoothed 
Our  way  before  us,  through  the  frantic  fling 

Of  roystering  waves'— as  once  Athene  soothed 
The  deeps  that  raged  around  the  wandering  King ; 


I        ''if.V'. 


-%*■ 


XIII.] 


FIGURE-HEAD  OF  "  THE  FOAM." 


267 


IV. 


The  scowling  tempest  rose  in  viin  to  clutch 

His  forked  bolts ;  you  smiJed.-they  harmless  turned 

To  sheets  of  splendor  at  his  palsied  touch, 
And  all  their  anger  perished  ere  it  burned. 


^ 


oNow  tmkling  waves  a  peal  of  welcome  rang 
Agamst  the  sheathing  of  our 'brazen  bows,- 

No  gladder  hymn  the  rosy  Nereids  sang, 
When,  clad  in  sunshine,  Aphrodite  rose. 

VI. 

Anon,  a  mightier  passion  stirred  the  deep- 
Presumptuous  billows  scaled  the  quivering  deck  • 
Up  to  your  very  lips  would  dare  to  leap, 
"And  fling  their  silver  arms  about  your  neck ; 

VII. 

The  unqouth  winds  stole  kisses  from  your  cheek, 
Then,  wild  with  exultation,  hurried  on. 

And  boasting  bade  their  laggard  comrades  seek 
The  momentary  bliss  themselves  had  won, 

viir. 

Who,  following,  filled  our  prosperous  sails  until 
We  reached  eternal  winter's  drear  domain. 

Where  suns  of  June  but  frozen  light  distil. 
And,  baffled,  quickly  abdicate  their  reign. 

IX. 

Yet  even  here  your  gracious  beauty  shed 
Deep  calm;  old  Ocean  slumbered  'neath  its  spell  • 

And  Summer  seemed  to  follow  where  you  led. 
As  loth  to  bid  your  kindred  smile  farewell.'    ' 


The  ommous  shapes  of  drifting  ice,  that  pack 
The  desolate  channels  of  the  polar  flood. 

Clustered  like  wolves  around  our  Northward  track 
Till  swayed  by  that  sweet  power  to  altered  moocj. 


■^:. 


•i'iX 


,-<»•■ 


268  LE TTEKS  FROM  HIGH  LA  TJTUDES.  [XII I. 

"*  !\        ^'• 

They  cowered,  and  ranged  themselves  on  either  side, 
Like  vassal  ranks  who  watch  some  passing  Queen 
'  Through  her  white  coisHmned  halls  in  silence  glide,   , 
Nor  mingling  meet  till  she  no  more  is  seen. 


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